“Every day is a new day. But I hope to ascend to a new level of weird with my work in 2024. And for sure, I'll be out here in California carving leather UFOs.”
— Sophia Ackelbein
The number of leatherwork artists and artisans whose stories I have stuck my nose into for Shop-Talk! is startin’ to sneak up on 100. Many of them have produced pieces that come with a moving backstory. But none have generated a bigger lump in my throat than a pair of memorial boot soles crafted by Sophia Ackelbein of Malevolent Leather, a one-woman outfit located on the outskirts of a small town a little way north of the San Francisco Bay.
A short video on Malevolent’s Instagram page
