Fox Fridays: Leatherwork Belt-Making Studio
Introduction to leatherwork with a brief overview of the craft as well as a look at some vintage equestrian tack for inspiration, but with each person having a completed belt at the end of the class as the goal. Students will have black or brown pre-dyed leather to use for their straps and can choose from a collection of buckle hardware that fits straps from 1" to 1.5". The students will learn all the steps to hand make a belt from cutting the straps to punching the holes to using a strap end punch as well as a skiing tool to thin the leather for the fold.
Takeaways
Students will create and take home a black or brown pre-dyed leather belt.
Cross-disciplinary connections
Leather work crosses with fashion, product development, manufacturing, fine art and architecture, particularly for interior accents, furniture, lighting and objects.
Instructor
Jason Ross grew up in Philadelphia, PA. Both his parents were creative: his mother designed a “Bullet Belt” in the 1970s, and entertained a New York set including Rudolf Nureyev, Margo Fonteyn, Bill Blass, and others. His father ran a plastic molding factory that produced a line of patented electromechanical products for the semiconductor industry. Ross grew up visiting factories in the US and the UK, and traveled the globe visiting semiconductor factories such as Intel, AMD, and Analog Devices on sales calls with his father. Ross was discovered in Los Angeles by a modeling agency in the mid1990s and was featured alongside Kate Moss in the iconic print and television ads for Calvin Klein’s CK ONE fragrance, shot by Steven Miesel. Ross continued modeling for years working with photographers such as Arthor Elgort, Max Vadukul, Terry Richardson and Albert Watson, among others. Much of Ross’s work for his accessories line Artemas Quibble, founded in 2012, is based in deconstructing antique materials and researching ancient, simple methods of construction. His original methodologies for working with leather attracted the attention of Michele Sanders, who advised Ross on creating a collection to show to Donna Karan. This led to Ross’ most extensive collaboration. He worked for 18 seasons with Donna Karan Collection, where he designed, prototyped, and manufactured belts and jewelry working directly with Donna Karan and Peter Speliopolous, the Creative Director. To keep up with demand, he built a development and production studio, and employed three metal workers and four leather workers. Through Karan, Ross was introduced to Aneta Genova and Dr. Sass Brown. Geneva asked Ross to lecture over a number of years to her Accessories students at Parsons The New School, and Sass hosted him on a sustainability panel at FIT, as well as included him in her book “REFASHIONED:Cutting-Edge Clothing from Upcycled Materials 2013.” Ross’ collection of belts adorned the runway for Peter Dundas’ first collection in 2017. Ross has worked with St. John Knits, Tory Burch, Calvin Klein, Helmut Lang and Rick Owens. Discovered by the legendary stylist George Cortina, his work has been featured in eight GQ cover stories, as well as V Magazine, Wall Street Journal Magazine, W Magazine, The New York Times T Magazine, Vanity Fair, and Harper’s Bazaar. Celebrities photographed wearing his work include Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, Steven Yuen, Daniel Craig, Swae Lee, Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima, and Karlie Kloss. Private celebrity clients include, Brad Pitt (purchased 15 belts), Trudie Styler (9 Belts) and Charlotte Tilbury (7 belts). Jason and his wife Natasha Chekoudian, an assistant Design Director at Free People, moved to Chekoudian’s hometown of St. Louis in 2020 with their two children, Aleksandra and Oliver.