Meet David and Tania Earle, the owners of David Earle Custom Saddles & Leatherworks in Murgon, QLD
David’s business started 17 years ago from his house where he passionately created custom saddles, gun belts and holsters. He has been selling his leatherwork and products through his online business with the support of his wife. He has recently expanded his business by opening a shop and a saddle-making school in Murgon, QLD.
The biggest achievement for me is the fact that I have been refining my craft as a saddler for the last 27 years. Since a very early age, I loved how leather could be moulded and how I could express my creativity. I will do this until the day I die – leather is forgiving, mouldable, and has allowed me to express my creativity in many ways – the best is yet to come. I love to create one-of-a-kind, made-to-fit, made-to-last custom saddles that are not only durable and stylish but also fit the rider and the horse perfectly. I know the importance of saddles that fit in all the right places, for both the horse and the rider.”
Read more about David’s business journey so far.
David’s Business
What is your business? How long has the business been operating?
I am a specialised saddle maker and leather craftsman. I started my business because I am passionate about this craft, and I wanted to offer custom saddles, gun belts and holsters to those who value handmade and custom leatherwork. I provide custom fit and design on handmade Australian fender as well as roping. Through my craft, I ensure that each saddle created fits the rider and the horse perfectly and is durable and stylish.
Besides saddles, I also make custom leather gun belts and holsters for cowboy action shooting. Each holster is moulded to fit individual pistols, rifles, etc. I also make gun leather starter kits, which includes the following: 2 Holsters, 1 gun belt, 1 shot gun belt, loading strip of your choice, and 5 round ammo slide. Full gun rigs including shot gut belt, loading strip etc and Loading strips, badge holders, empty shell case bags, butt covers, and lever wraps.
Working with Many Rivers
I was doing saddlery from my house for 17 years with an online presence and now thanks to Many Rivers, we have a shop front as well. We also host workshops to increase awareness and we have opened a saddle-making school as well. We have three students at the moment, and we are providing them with one-on-one training on how to make their own western stock saddles.
Before contacting with Many Rivers, I was making saddles on a part-time business for my online business while working as a full-time driller at a mining company. But now that I have opened my own saddlery shop and saddle-making school, I have left my drilling job to dedicate all my time and efforts to grow and run my business.
We were referred through a contact of ours to see if Many Rivers could help us set up our saddlery shop. Tiani from Many Rivers has been our business coach and she has been very helpful at every step. We are seeing Tiani this Tuesday as well to touch base on our business growth and plans.
I am grateful for Many Rivers business coaching and loan which allowed me to open my first saddlery shop. The loan has really helped us in growing our business from online presence to opening a shop.
Do you have any current employees?
Since we have recently opened our shop, its mostly me and my wife managing most of the work and we have hired one employee who works on a part-time basis, that is, four days a fortnight.
Biggest Challenge
Since it has been only 12 months since we opened our shop, we are really struggling with managing the cashflow and the expenses. Doing everything we know to make it work now. “For now – I will do this until the day I die – leather is forgiving, mouldable, and has allowed me to express my creativity in many ways – the best is yet to come.”
Biggest Success
I would say opening our shop, hiring an employee and starting our saddle-making school are some of our biggest successes to date. We also feel proud of running our online business for several years in a consistent manner despite my full-time drilling job.
Biggest Change
The biggest change for us (my wife and I) is that we are spending more and more hours together to grow and run our business. We have gone living away from each other and now we are constantly together discussing different business plans, goals and cashflow issues.
Future Goals
I would say our short-term business goal is to survive till next month. Currently, we are in the survival mode. In the long-run, I want to get my trainer certificate so that my skills are recognised to allow me to get an apprentice next year. Moreover, we want to sell our products in the first international saddle sale this year and organise more workshops to promote our business. Lastly, we want to get more students enrolled in our saddle-making school which will train students to create their own western stock saddle. It is a one-on-one course of seven days with me.
Thank you, David and Tania for sharing your business journey with us. We wish you the best of luck with your future endeavours and business success.
If you would like to stay updated with David and his business story as a small business owner, follow David Earle Custom Saddles on social media:
Website: https://davidearlecustomsaddles.com/ | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Davidearlecustomsaddlesgunbeltsandholsters/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidearlecustomsaddles/
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