In the Oak Leather is a bit of a labor of love project for former automotive mechanic turned leather crafter Joe Greif. Joe got into leatherworking at an early age making random things for his friends and family. He even sold a few products and took on some commissioned work for people he knew. Life quickly got in the way with work and family life, and Joe put his passion for leather on the back burner for decades. After a long career as a mechanic in the automotive industry, Joe was finally able to rekindle his old hobby. He quickly realized that his talent for making meticulously crafted handmade leather products was still there. Over the last few years of getting back into the rhythm, Joe has been expanding on and perfecting some of his old techniques. He’s been experimenting with different products and honing in his tool work. He’s been pleasantly surprised with the results and has decided to turn his love for leather into his next full-time profession. On this site, you’ll find products for sale that Joe has been working on over the past few years to build up inventory. New inventory will continually be added to the site as it’s made. Joe is also taking orders for custom leather pieces. Anything you see in the Gallery section of the website are items that Joe can make for you, with your own customization and preferences of course. Or maybe you have something in mind that you’d love to have made out of leather, chances are Joe can help. Feel free to look around and see if there’s anything you like. Everything you see was hand-made with love and attention by Joe.
Helping Joe on this new venture of his is his middle son Karl. Karl has a background in photography, video production and design and helps Joe put his work out into the world.
Joe
Joe and Karl