About
It Was All A Dream
A lifelong artist and creative, I earned a BFA in Theatre Design from the University of Kansas in 2004 and fell in love with visual art along the way. I dabbled in sculpture and mixed-media work until the day I inherited my grandfather Milt Horn’s set of leatherworking tools in 2009.
Once I picked up the mallet I never looked back.
Totally self-taught, I have spent years developing a one-of-a-kind visual art style defined by detailed illustration, rich geometric patterning, and sculptural folding of heavy full-grain cowhide. I hope my work has a playful self-awareness; tweaking traditional forms, winking at the medium itself, and reflecting on culture at large.
-Scott Micheal Horn
slow-fashion
In a throwaway world I do my best to create useful, beautiful pieces that become friends for life. I make everything by hand, and each piece is lavished with care from start to finish.
The opposite of fast-fashion, this is heirloom-quality leather that patinas gracefully and with a little care will last a lifetime. These are pieces you have a relationship with, a bond outside the whims of fashion and trends.
My designs eschew linings and zippers, things that will deteriorate no matter the quality. I use heavy full-grain saddle leather, and I oil it and seal everything as though it were going to be ridden hard and put away wet. I use solid brass cast hardware that will patina and last just as long as the leather. All things with an eye to longevity and durability.
Magical * Uni-sexy
* The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, that it only changes forms. This is why handmade work of every kind is magical – it is literally imbued with the energy poured into making it. The focus, will, creativity, and skill of the artisan transform a mundane object into something that bonds with you and makes you feel good when you wear it. Magic.
** Uni-sexy: There are no men’s and women’s anything at The Unsaddled. Every single thing I make is for every single body. A pocket square is not menswear nor is a harness ladie’s lingerie. All clothing is costume, liberate yourselves and wear whatever you want, and if you wanna look sexy wear leather.
Sustainability is sexy
Besides making things to last, I try to make things with as little impact and harm as possible. Foremost is the leather – I source all my leather from Wickett & Craig, one of two natural tanneries left in the US. This leather comes from slaugherhouses so the hide is a leftover byproduct. The natural process uses oak bark tannins in lieu of Chromium and other chemicals used to speed the process. I use water-based stain and antique, and beeswax based oil, resist, and top coat. Finally I make the work entirely by hand, keeping production limited and by nature, not a commodity product that can scale up or be manufactured.