OUR STORY
ABOUT BLUE COCONUT LEATHERWORKS
Blue Coconut Leatherworks is a business specializing in custom-made leather purses. Based in America, the company prides itself on hand-sewn designs that are unique and meticulously crafted. With a history of almost three years in leatherworking, Blue Coconut Leatherworks aims to showcase and sell its products online, offering a range of handcrafted high quality leather purses at an affordable price to customers.
Hello!
We are Russel and Julie Swigart and we have spent the last three years learning leatherworking. Our interest was peaked when Russ inherited his Dad's old leatherworking tools after he passed away in 2019. The tools brought back memories of watching his Dad work on leather items from his childhood. In hindsight, he wished that he had thought about the leatherworking before his passing but his health was not good. Russ started messing around with the tools and some cheap leather we had picked up. As time passed I could see him getting frustrated and I didn't want him to stop because the process of leatherworking brought him closer to his Dad.
In 2022 I threw my hat in the ring and decided to work with him so he didn't stop trying and together we learned and improved our leatherworking skills. We started looking for patterns online (they don't come with instructions, just the pieces) and through trial and error, research online, books, and youtube we were able to learn more and more with each item we made.
In November of 2024 we decided to take the next step and attend our first craft show. At that time Russ had focused on wallets and I had focused on purses. I was terrified that my purses were not going to be good enough or to expensive. We were both shocked and amazed at what happened next. I brought five purses and I sold three in one day! We left that show with two custom orders for leatherwork and a whole new outlook on our hobby. We went ahead and signed up for four more craft shows in 2025!
We receive several orders from our posts and shares on Facebook and TikTok. We decided it was time to set up our own website to share our product line and our journey. While we are still using sourced patterns for our purses our goal is to eventually design our own patterns. Both of us are still working full time jobs but are close to retirement. Our goal is to have our own product line within three to four years.
We can't wait for our next adventure!
Russ and Julie Swigart