Meet John And Kelley Tutas | Leather Crafters

We had the good fortune of connecting with John And Kelley Tutas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John and Kelley, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I could find a holster with the features I desired for the price point that was affordable to me so I started doing research on how I could possibly make my own. I had learned a little about leather work when I had worked on a ranch in college, mostly minor repairs on saddles. I got a small piece of leather and some basic tools and got to work. A friend saw the finished product and asked me to make him one. It snowballed from there and in the first 2 weeks I had a orders for 7 holsters.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I really enjoy working and helping people whenever and however I am able to. It was getting to the point where the job(s) I have had were getting in the way of me helping those that I cared about most so moving over to working for myself seemed like the right direction to head. As we were preparing to officially “launch” our business in 2023 a fire consumed our shop and all of its contents: tools, materials, personal positions, and stock we had been building up, etc. We decided to stick with it and I kept working my W-2 job at the time to try and build back up what we had lost. After getting some equipment back I was able to start making and creating some items again. I left my last W-2 job in the fall in 2024 to concentrate on trying to make the family business full-time for the first time ever. We had a very successful fall and holiday market season. As most local markets are pretty few and far between now that the holidays are over I may very well be looking for work again, but I think if a person has a vision and desire to see something come to fruition the bumps that come along the way are best viewed as learning and growing opportunities. We’ll take what we’ve learned from this season and learn how to grow and overcome what new challenges lay ahead.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Our state is full of natural resources therefore where we live can also be our playground. Besides taking them on hikes to see the sites we would also spend a great deal of time at our home enjoying what the land around us provides- good views, peaceful tranquility of the outdoors and the shared spaces with our local wildlife and domesticated animals (horses, chickens, goats, dogs, and a cat).

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To my beautiful wife, Kelley, for her support and partnership. She puts in a lot of work for our family business along with working a full time job as a high school counselor. She started taking the “scraps” from my larger projects and making earrings, keychains, etc.

Website: https://tutasleather.com

Instagram: @TutasLeather @whistlingmeadowsranch

Facebook: @TutasLeather @whistlingmeadowsranch

Youtube: Tutas Family- Whistling Meadows Ranch

Image Credits
Kelley Tutas Lizz Pedersen Sam Vaughn