E72: Custom Leather Art You Never Knew You Needed

From government desk job to artisan leather workshop, Jacob Clack's journey embodies the transformative power of finding your creative calling. Seeking escape from the monotony of his work at Disability Determination Services, Jacob stumbled across intricate leather carvings on Reddit that would forever change his path. What began as simple curiosity blossomed into Klack Daddy Leather, a Fort Collins-based business specializing in Western-style tooling and custom leather designs.

Jacob's craft exists at a fascinating intersection of traditional artistry and practical functionality. Much like the deliberate precision of hand-tapped tattoos or metal engraving, leather tooling demands patience and dedicated practice. "I think the biggest misconception is that not everybody can do it," Jacob reflects, emphasizing how perseverance rather than innate talent drives mastery. His portfolio spans from ornate saddle designs to custom guitar straps commissioned by country music artists, demonstrating how versatile the medium can be in skilled hands.

The entrepreneurial journey hasn't been without challenges. Jacob candidly shares the financial strain of initial equipment investments and the ongoing struggle to stand out in a competitive field. With 90% of his business originating from Instagram, he's constantly navigating social media algorithms while maintaining artistic integrity. Yet despite these hurdles, his passion remains undiminished. When asked what listeners should remember about his business, Jacob's answer reveals the limitless potential of his craft: "I can make any design and put it on anything you want." To discover Jacob's artistry or commission your own piece, visit clackdaddyleather.com or find him on Instagram. What could your leather story be?

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hi Fort Collins.
Welcome to the Good NeighborPodcast.
Are you in need of a leatherworker?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing Jacob Klack with
Klack Daddy Leather.
Jacob, how's it going?
I'm doing well.
Thanks, man.
I appreciate it.
Awesome.
We're excited to learn allabout you and your profession.
Tell us about your businessWell mainly I am a leather

(00:34):
worker.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
I do specialize in carving and tooling designs on
leather, usually in like theWestern kind of you know what
you would see on, like reallynice saddles, that kind of style
.
So yeah, that's what I can do,basically anything I've done
characters and business logos.
Basically, if you do it withthe right kind of leather, you

(00:57):
can make any design you want andput it on to any product.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Wow, how did you get into this business?

Speaker 3 (01:06):
I guess it started back in like 2020.
I was doing my job in Texas.
I was working for disabilitydetermination services, which
was super boring, and I waslooking for a hobby to get into
and I found leather work.
I wanted to make like a toolbelt I think was my original
design and then I got into.

(01:27):
I was on the subreddit theleather worker subreddit and I
saw these dudes doing thesecrazy carvings with all these
awesome designs on leather and Iwas just like, how do they do
that?
So then I just snowballed, Ilooked it up, started working on
it, practicing, and then justkind of kept getting more and
more into it.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
And then you know, here we are does it take a
similar skill set as tattoo art?

Speaker 3 (01:51):
you know, it's actually very similar.
Uh, it's more like the tattooartists.
If you've ever seen tattooartists in, like the asian,
where they, you know, like dothe, where they hit it with the
pick, you know what I'm talkingabout.
Have you ever seen that?
Oh, old school without amachine?
Yeah, without a machine,exactly so it's.
It's more similar to thatskillset, um, in a lot of ways.

(02:12):
Or if you've ever seen somebodyengrave, uh, metal, metal
engraving by hand, it's kind ofsimilar to that as well.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
What are some myths or misconceptions in your
industry?

Speaker 3 (02:24):
What are some myths or misconceptions in your
industry?
I think I mean, when I gotstarted, it was, you know, I
wanted to do everything that Isaw everybody else doing, which
was, you know, it just takestime and practice.
But when I first got started, Iwas super what's the word I'm
looking for?
I was very disheartened aftermy very first attempt at tooling
something.
It looked horrible.
It was just like I was verydisheartened after my very first

(02:44):
attempt at tooling something.
It looked horrible.
It was just like.
I was like man, this is reallybad, like how can these guys do
all this really cool stuff andthis looks so bad?
And just guys were telling me,like you just got to practice.
And I was like, okay, well, youknow, and so that's what I did.
I just started putting in thework and then it got
exponentially better.

(03:05):
So I think the biggestmisconception is that not, maybe
not everybody can do it.
You know, like I think that ifyou put in practice, it's
something that anybody can do.
That's why it's a really greathobby for people to pick up.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Who are your target customers and how are you
attracting them?
Now, typically, we find outwhen there's a unique business
that most people aren't eveneducated about, they have no
knowledge of.
There's a huge market of peopleyou've already discovered would
love you if they knew youexisted, but they're almost
there, like they own saddles,for instance.
Who's that untapped marketthat's almost there and just

(03:41):
that you're after, and how areyou reaching them?

Speaker 3 (03:43):
Well, I would say it's not necessarily an untapped
market, because everybody whodoes you know any kind of rodeo
scene, they all know leatherworkers, they all have stuff
that has tooling on it.
You know belts or rope cans oranything else, or their saddles.
I would say breaking into thatmarket is a challenge Because

(04:05):
there are lots of dudes who doit already, that are really good
at it, so you kind of just haveto be a step better than
everybody else, and so that'skind of where I'm at right now
is just trying to improve myskills as much as possible to
break into that market.
It's been happening recently,though I've gotten more and more
.
I've got a couple of fairly bigcountry artists that have had

(04:30):
me make guitar straps for themrecently, so that's been pretty
cool.
But yeah, getting onto therodeo scene, that would be nice.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
And we know that marketing is the heart of every
successful business.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
Have you ever thought about marketing yourself
through a podcast.
You know, this is the firsttime I've been invited on a
podcast.
I'm definitely open to it, butyeah, I've never.
You're the first person toapproach.
So yeah, I'd love to do more ofthem Outside of work.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (05:00):
Outside.
This is what I do for fun, likeit started off as what I did
for fun and then it's built intoa business, but it's still fun
for me.
So, yeah, this is what I do inmy spare time other than hanging
out with my kids.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yeah, I get that, Jacob.
Let's switch gears for a second.
Can you describe a hardship ora life challenge that you
overcame and how it made youstronger?
What comes to mind?

Speaker 3 (05:30):
I mean, well, quitting my job you know know, a
stable job that was definitelya hardship.
Uh, it was.
It was not easy to get off theground.
Uh, just because there's a lotof equipment that you have to
purchase from the get-go.
So, like, I was definitely inthe hole for a while.
Um, so, just slowly, you know,getting just putting that work

(05:51):
out there, you know, on aconsistent basis, and trying to
market myself on Instagram,which is primarily, I'd say like
90% of my business comes off ofInstagram right now.
So, yeah, just trying toconsistently post and get your
stuff out there so people see it.
Yeah, that's, it's been tough,especially the whole Instagram
thing.
You know, getting on the rightside of that algorithm is always

(06:14):
a challenge, so it's an ongoingchallenge.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
Are you mail order only or are you a retail front
somewhere?
I do not have a retail front.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
I mean technically I have registered with Fort
Collins as a home business so Ithink I could do limited retail
sales is what they said.
But yeah, I don't have anecessarily like a retail front.
It's almost all inquiriescoming in through the website or
Instagram.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
Now, that keeps you efficient, I get it.
So, jacob, please tell ourlisteners one thing that they
should absolutely remember aboutClack Daddy Leather.

Speaker 3 (06:49):
The one thing to remember is that I can make any
design and put it on anythingyou want.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
Interesting, jacob.
Can you tell our listeners allthe ways that they can find you
online other than the Instagramyou just mentioned, and then
maybe a phone number at the end?

Speaker 3 (07:06):
Yeah, I don't have a business phone number, so I am
in the process of getting one,so I don't want to put out my
personal phone number.
But uh, yeah,clackdaddyleathercom.
Uh, instagram,clackdaddyleather.
I'm on Facebook.
I uh started a TikTok a whileago, even though I haven't
really done much with that,cause I'm not sure if they're

(07:26):
going to ban it or not.
So I'm like I don't want to putall this work into another
thing.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
Well, Jacob, I really appreciate you being on the
show.
We wish you and Clack DaddyLeather the absolute best moving
forward.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
Hey, thanks man, I really appreciate you having me
on.

Speaker 1 (07:44):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tognpfortcollinscom.
That's gnpfortCollinscom.
That's GNPfortCollinscom, orcall 970-438-0825.