We've Been Hiding: Meet the Maker Behind OA Leather Supply — and the Project Curator That Builds Your Next Leather Kit

There's a reason our slogan is we've been hiding. We're a small leather supply company in central Saskatchewan, working with hides, quietly building something most of the big distributors never bothered to. We're not a faceless warehouse. We're one leatherworker, a 5-star bench, and a catalogue we've curated by hand — and now we've built a tool that lets you shop it the way an experienced maker actually thinks.

It's called the OA Project Curator, and it's the most useful thing to happen to buying leather online in a long time.

First, a little about me

I'm Ian Guenter — owner, operator, and the guy on his feet everyday cutting, lifting, and packing at OA Leather Supply (Oakson Authentic). I make leather goods: duffels, messenger bags, dopp kits, wallets, belts, totes, backpacks, laptop sleeves, camera cases. The whole range. That matters, because when you buy from OA you're not buying from someone who resells leather — you're buying from someone who builds with it as well.

That's the difference I wanted to bake into the company. A lot of leather suppliers treat leather like lumber: stacked, weighed, shipped, done. I think about it the way I think about a finished bag — temper, pull-up, thickness, how it'll feel in the hand, whether the hardware will sit right against it, what thread colour will pair. When you've stitched a hundred projects, you stop seeing a product list and start seeing combinations that work. The Project Curator is my attempt to put that instinct into a tool, so you get it whether or not you've ever held a side of leather before.

What is the OA Project Curator?

The Project Curator is a guided shopping experience here at OA Leather Supply that turns "I want to make X" into a complete, compatible leather project kit.

You tell it what you're building. You answer a few simple questions. It does the rest — recommending curated options for:

• Main leather — matched to your project, thickness, temper, finish, and colour
• Hardware — buckles, D-rings, snaps, rivets, Chicago screws, zippers, bag closures, sized and finished to fit
• Thread — waxed hand-stitch or machine thread, in the colour that actually complements your hide
• Straps and shoulder strap leather — in the right width for the build

Everything it recommends is compatible, in stock, and ready to add to your cart as a kit. No guessing whether your leather is too floppy for a belt. No ordering thread that clashes. No realizing halfway through that your snaps are the wrong size. The Curator handles the part most beginners get wrong and most pros find tedious: matching all the pieces.

Why we built it

OA has a big catalogue. That's a good problem — until you're a customer staring at dozens of hides, a wall of hardware, and a thread rack, trying to figure out which combination makes a great wallet versus a great weekender. Choice is only a gift if you know how to use it.

So we built the Curator to do what I'd do if I were standing next to you in the shop: ask what you're making, ask what matters most to you, and then hand you the pieces that belong together. It cuts the decision fatigue out of the experience and replaces it with something closer to working with a maker who knows the material. For a beginner, it's training wheels that actually teach. For a seasoned leatherworker, it's a fast path to a vetted kit so you can get to the bench sooner.

It's also, honestly, just a more us way to sell leather. Premium, considered, built by someone who cares how the finished thing turns out.

What makes OA different from other leather suppliers

If you're comparing leather supply companies, here's the honest pitch.

We make what we sell. Most distributors have never built a bag out of their own inventory. We have — and that experience is wired into every recommendation the Curator makes.

We curate, we don't just stock. Our leather is chosen for character: vibrant colours, strong pull-up, unique hides you won't see everywhere. We carry the hardware, thread, textiles, conditioners, and tools to finish the job, plus sewing machines and other machinery for people going deeper.

We're small on purpose, and proud of it. A 5-star Google rating and one of the strongest social followings of any leather supply company in the world, run out of a shop in Saskatchewan. We ship across Canada and all over North America, as well as the rest of the world. 

We give before we sell. Our free Design Notes — rough sketches with measurements for real projects — exist to help you build, not just to move product. The Curator is the same philosophy, turned into a tool.

Who it's for

The Project Curator is built for the maker community we serve every day. Equal parts weekend hobbyists and working craftspeople, people who care about doing it right and want materials with soul. Whether you're cutting your first wallet or your fiftieth duffel, the Curator meets you where you are and gets you to a kit you can trust.

Try it

Open the Project Curator. Pick your project, answer the questions, and watch a curated kit come together — leather, hardware, thread, and strap, all matched, all in stock, all ready to build.

Enjoy! – Designed, Made and Created by Ian Guenter of Oakson Authentic.