A & W Leatherworks

06/10/2023

A couple weeks ago we had a big surprise come in the tiniest of packages. One of our roping heifers calved to our surprise, as she was supposed to be open. No calf belly, no baby bump, just normal athletic build. Two days prior to her calving we noticed she developed a small but full bag (udder). So we became very suspicious of the possible pending delivery and separated her off to keep an eye on her. Sure enough as we suspected she delivered a slightly premie bull calf. We let her try to be a mom, but the calf was TINY! Thankfully HE WAS VIGOROUS, but just to small to reach the "kitchen table". We pulled him off momma and have been bottle feeding him, and happy to report he is doing well! We didn't know for sure how it would go, but if anyone knows us, they know we will darn sure give it our all! Didn't take too long and his hair coat grew in longer and thicker, his hooves finished developing and hardening, and his eyelashes grew in. He started out eating from a lamb bottle and could put away about 1 and a half bottles a feeding safely, (much more and it would likely spilled over to the next stomach compartment and caused scours). After about a week he was ready for the larger ni**le on a calf bottle and could put away about half a bottle each feeding. He has worked his way up to a full bottle morning and night, is drinking water from a bucket, and starting to munch on prairie hay and grass. This little guy weighed like maybe 25 pounds when he was born, and he has undoubtedly stolen some hearts! We would love to share his journey with you!

P.s everything adorable deserves an impromptu photo shoot, right?! Most of the pictures are from Thursday, @ 2.5 weeks old.

05/30/2023

For awhile now we have been rethinking things and trying to figure out how to better share what all we do and who we are with you all. You see we are so much more than just the leathershop... awhile back we expanded to have the mercantile to include all the other things we love to create, raise, and build! It still just isn't quite enough, so logical next choice is... we have been working on rebranding! This isn't just a quick knee-jerk or easy thing to do, but fact of the matter is...most all business and brands rebrand as they grow and expand over the years. On average, every 7-10 years! So... we are ready to make that move! You will still see the same great stuff we build, but you will now start seeing so much more of us, as we ARE SO MUCH MORE! We hope you will stay tuned and hang with us as we share more of who we are and what we do! God Bless and hope you enjoy the journey with us!

05/30/2023

As things on our outfit stay super busy, I still wanna share some fun special things with you all! This is a graduation cap I had the honor of making for a pretty special young lady I have had the honor and pleasure of watching grow up, and now she gets to start a new chapter in life! Proud of you Katy Jo!
Her graduation cap design included her name, graduation year, feathers, her favorite saying, her love of barrel racing, and reference of her favorite Bible verse. ❤

05/24/2023

Whew! Life has been crazy! How about you all?
We have some exciting news! Caleb's mini- Jersey, Penny, calved a little over 2 weeks ago!
I know, I know kinda behind on posts, lol! Guess we have been too busy keeping up with life in the real vs. being on Facebook! Not a bad thing though! But we promise to try to do better!🙂
Penny had a bouncing baby boy and they both are doing great! You can see proud grandma Gerty in the background! Her "Brindle" is beaming!🥰
Doesn't he have just the cutest little bo**er lip!? 😄

04/14/2023

Wishing all the competitors of the upcoming Cowley County Classic the very best of luck! Safe travels and show your best!

04/07/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100064631474251/posts/593795846118126/

https://facebook.com/events/s/nbha-ks-10-burden/724542165579015/

03/17/2023

Wishing you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

12/24/2022

This year at the Cambridge Community Soup Supper and Santa visit, Wayne had the honor of being asked to read The Night Before Christmas. Talk about being humbled and honored at the task! He knew he had some mighty big and special shoes to fill! We all missed you Howard and Barb!❤ Some day he might get it all from memory, but in the mean time I made him a vintage looking version of the story and gave it a leather binding that way it would have a neat old vintage look and be a neat keepsake!

12/09/2022

Going through and checking the cattle in pens this morning, something caught Caleb’s eye and he called me over. We both stood there in awe for a minute at what lay on the ground before us…some broken pieces of wood off the old barn, laying atop a bunch of rocks and manure.
We looked at each other humbly and in awe. We came to this conclusion …”Even through the muck and hard times, Jesus' love rises above and prevails!”
This profound observation/message could have easily been missed, overlooked, or merely seen as the elements comprising the cluster of stuff on the ground. Maybe Ag/country folks will appreciate this more because of the initial first look of the components. Others may say ewww! That's poo! … However when oneself gets out of ones way and realizes, I hope they too can see the profound message that was so simply laying right before us at our feet. If we stop and think about life, there is ALWAYS poo in the “backgound”, just what do you choose to focus on?

For example:
You see, our family has been through so much the last few years, NO denying many others have too! Which still lends to my overall point! We have fought hard to keep carrying on the torch. We haven’t openly discussed much of the last few years, as we have tried to focus on what is truly important. We pray and work hard through the hard times, and let God have the reins to show us the way. We give thanks and celebrate the good times…and continue to work hard everyday to live a life worthy of Jesus' Love. We keep putting one foot in front of the other even, and most importantly, when we had to reach way down deep inside ourselves because we felt we just didn’t have the “strength” left in us. But we kept going! Doing what needs to be done and fighting for what is right. You know what? Even though we have been through everything we have been through, we still had/have a GOOD life, one we are very thankful for! We count our blessings everyday and have learned to be observant of the little things around us and all the Blessings He provides. We choose to conquer and survive the struggles and adversity, show Grace and respect even when it wasn’t warranted or shown in return, and be humble. We know we are a work in progress and continue to look at ourselves first when things go awry. We look to ourselves to make sure we are doing right, and being accountable. Correcting what can be corrected, learning from it all, & not resorting to blaming others for short comings, or failures. Most importantly we choose not to live with a victim mentality. We are surviving and thriving with His Grace and Love!

So my question for you...how do you perceive this pile of wood, rock, and waste?

How will you choose to proceed in life?

Just wanted to share this with you all, and I am in hopes that it might inspire someone to see things in a different light if they are struggling.
You do have the strength!
Just reach deep and find it!
We believe in you!
God Bless!

~There will always be muck in the background, rocks and stones in our paths,
but Jesus’ Love rises above and shines through!
You just have to choose to see it! ❤

12-8-2022

11/25/2022

As we all feel like Pudge looks... I hope everyone stays Thankful and enjoys a wonderful holiday season filled with family and friends! Wishing you all many blessings!

Who else feels like Pudge? Whew...no he isn't bloated, just very rolly-polly like every day. He weaned very well and is an easy keeper! Caleb thinks he might have a future as a pet rock model before his roping steer career.😃