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Jeff Hedge vividly recalled the time when his successful business, Laying J Leather, was launched two decades ago. “It kind of spread out as a hobby,” he said, suggesting that his new venture seemed to grow easily, in a recreational sort of way. However, his creative leap into leatherwork also took a lot of hands-on effort, natural talent and a strong, independent streak.
At the time, Hedge was a professional herdsman in South West Virginia, working with Brangus beef cattle — a Brahman-Angus cross. Born and raised in Virginia, he had