Round Vallet | Deep Matte Walnut

Great Story Works

Leather Valet Tray in Walnut Handmade and Handstitched by Veteran Rick Elder of Great Story Works Midcoast Maine Artisan Store The Good Supply Pemaquid Made in USA
  • Leather Valet Tray in Walnut Handmade and Handstitched by Veteran Rick Elder of Great Story Works Midcoast Maine Artisan Store The Good Supply Pemaquid Made in USA
  • $54.00

This flexible leather catchall is the perfect accessory for any table-top organization. Made with supple top grain leather, featuring raw cut edges and metal studs at each corner.

The clever upfold design of this organizational piece shows the underside of its rich leather offering a sueded texture to contrast the smooth surface up top.

- Measures 6.5" across, 9" long x 1.5" tall
- Stitched by hand
- Vegetable tanned leather
- Will patina with use
- Spot clean with cloth and water, leather conditioner or oil as desired

Rick Elder is an artist/maker, veteran, PTSD survivor, and leatherwork instructor who lives and works in Augusta, Maine. He joined the military in 2003 and served in active duty until 2019 when he was medically retired due to injuries received in service. He and his wife moved to Maine for a fresh start – the first place he has ever felt truly at home. He began Great Story Works in 2016 when he began making knives between deployments to keep his hands busy and mind engaged. Once settled in Maine, he decided to try his hand at making leather sheaths for his knives. He found the leather working suited him, particularly as it was less physically taxing for his recovering body, and he soon began making more than just knife sheaths.

The same year Rick moved to Maine, he discovered the Travis Mills Foundation, a Maine-based organization focused on helping post-911 veterans re-integrate into civilian life. He began by volunteering in the kitchen, then participated in their Warrior PATHH program (a retreat designed to facilitate post traumatic growth for combat veterans and first responders), which was integral to his own process of moving through PTSD. He now volunteers his time by teaching a leather working classes to veterans and civilians. He also donates some of his pieces to their auctions and fundraisers.

Rick feels his life has been a ‘great story’, one that permeates each piece he creates as his work is inextricably linked to the path he has walked. His craft is born of both a means to heal and a desire to share that healing with others – to tell his own ‘great story’ through his work in hopes that others may take that work and in turn create their own ‘great story.'

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