Customers are not waiting to drop in at Cactus Ranch, a new leatherworking shop that opens in Wheatland sometime next month.
Eric Hannig, the entrepreneur opening the shop, said during an interview March 14 he still has improvements to make on the building and more tables to set up before Cactus Ranch officially opens. Although he’s not quite open for business, Hannig said people have been stopping in with leather projects they want done.
“By the looks of it, there’s a lot of leather repair needs around here,” Hannig said. “So I’ve been meeting a lot of nice people, and I’ve been very grateful.”
Hannig said he knows of only three people in the area who do leather work aside from himself and the friend who works with him.
Hannig was a surprise contributor during Kathy Ogle’s presentation about master saddle maker Rudy Mudra during a recent meeting of the Platte County Historical Society, but he specified Cactus Ranch is a leather working shop.
“I’ve only built a couple saddles,” Hannig said.
Hannig was working on a few projects for customers last week, including some custom tooled pieces to adorn a set of chaps. He noted he had just built a complete set of chaps that he sent to a customer the day before.
Hannig uses tooling leather from Herman Oak Leather Company, a brand based in St. Louis, for his craft. He noted some people use heat to tool patterns into leather, but he uses the more traditional approach of tapping punches into it.
Hannig explained he dips pieces of leather into water, which makes them moldable. He traces a pattern into the leather, often one of the floral patterns popular in the West, and then makes it “pop” by using the leather punches to carve three-dimensional details. He estimated it takes about three days to make a belt using his method.
Hannig demonstrated the sewing machine he uses, a Cobra machine made by Leather Machine Company, which can sew together pieces an inch thick.
Hannig said he has been making leather goods for the past 10 years; he is 20 years old now. He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and his family moved to Cheyenne when he was 10. He said at that time, he became involved in leather work to satisfy his aunt’s household requirement of “something to do — you couldn’t just sit around the house.” He went to a leather shop and started by making all the patterns they had.
“For the past 10 years, I’ve been making belts, knife sheaths, guitar straps and anything you can think of,” Hannig said. “I just stuck with it.”
Hannig said last year, he and a friend moved to California where they repaired saddles, bridles and anything leather. They returned at the end of summer to Cheyenne, where Hannig continued practicing his craft in his mother’s garage.
Then Hannig went to work for Wheatland area rancher Colt Bruegman, who owns the building where Cactus Ranch is now located. Hannig cowboyed with Bruegman for a while before starting Cactus Ranch.
Hannig crafts and repairs leather goods at Cactus Ranch with the help of the friend who accompanied him to California last year and Pepper, a shitzu who has been with him seven years — since she was a tiny puppy who fit in the palm of his hand.
“She’s quite the dog,” Hannig said.
Hannig maneuvered Pepper to figure prominently in photos of the shop taken for publication in the Record-Times.
Several photos of Hannig’s work can be seen on his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/eric.justin.779205.
Cactus Ranch is located at 868 Gilchrist, between the Community Thrift Store and Wells Fargo. Hannig uses his cellphone for business, and his number is 307-630-4309.
