Snapguide

Since joining Snapguide, Attila has posted some beautiful guides on custom leatherwork. Thanks to all the attention he’s been getting he’s now busy trying to keep up with the influx of custom orders from around the world! We are amazed by his craftsmanship and love how his comments are always so encouraging, so we got in touch with him to learn more.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I was born in Budapest, Hungary and grew up moving between Hungary and Germany every few years. That’s why it’s never easy for me to work out “where I’m from”.

I was always into music, art and design and started drawing and painting like any child does. As soon as my dad brought home a computer, I started playing with graphics on it. At some point my interest turned into a hobby and before I knew it, it became a job – and it has been ever since. I also studied Audio Engineering because I’m fascinated by the process of recording music (who doesn’t want to know what all the buttons are for?!).

How did you get into doing custom Leatherwork?

I went to one of our local markets where I saw a leatherworker who was stamping his designs into belts and I was just fascinated by the process. I watched him for a while and made a note that I wanted to try that one day. Months later I started to research it. I read books, tried to find communities and tutorials online and I started to buy the most basic set of tools and leather to get going.

After I finished my first few projects, I knew that this was going to be something I’d love doing! It was the perfect balance to my day job where I spent most of my time in front of a computer screen making “virtual things”. But this time I was making real things.

What project are you most proud of?

That’s a tough one! Each project takes so much work that I’m really proud of all of the ones I send out. I think you have to love doing these projects if you want to do them well! If I had to pick one, I would say that the iPad case with the old Apple logo on the front would be very high on the list.

Where do you get your inspiration?

I get inspired by almost everything that’s around me. People, photography, music, movies, paintings, antiques…Sometimes I put on some music and I simply start working. The Ronnie Wood pick guard is an example of a project that I made because I had bought an album that inspired me to make something – check out the time-lapse video behind its making.

It’s very important for me to stay organized and write down ideas, links and notes whenever I see something interesting. I take pictures of materials, shapes, colors and hardware because anything could be a good base for an idea at some point. And I try to revisit those notes on a regular basis, find the good ones and start working!

Why did you start using Snapguide?

I’m still very new to leather work and decided to share my journey and learning experience because it’s a topic that is not very well documented online. I hope that others will find my guides helpful and start making things!