Returning home from the war 4 years later, housing was difficult to find, so Stohlman lived in a little shack and traded horses in Laguna Canyon.Īfter viewing a poorly executed reproduction of a bucking horse on a saddle, Stohlman thought saddle art should be held to a higher standard if he could do it on paper, why not leather? He began to study other saddles very closely and developed his own techniques and procedures through trial and error, occasionally picking up tips from a local saddle shop. While in Milne Bay, New Guinea, Stohlman had his first encounter with leatherwork when he saw natives creating decorative designs in leather. He was an excellent shot with a rifle, firing Expert with the M-1 in the army. In 1941, Stohlman was called to serve in the Army’s 46th Engineer Regiment. During this time, he learned a lot about horses and cowboys that became invaluable to his work, both as an artist and saddle-maker.

Growing up in the Santa Ana Canyon, he would trail along on his horse after the cowboys from Bixby Ranch as they drove cattle down the dry Santa Ana River bed to the railroad pens in Olive, CA. He and his wife Ann produced 100’s of magazine articles, Doodle Pages and other valuable tools still used in the leathercraft industry.Īs a young boy, drawing came naturally to Stohlman and he aspired to become an illustrator for western stories.

Al Stohlman (1919-1998) was a pioneer in leathercraft and continues to influence hundreds of thousands of leathercrafters worldwide.

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