Hellbent for Leather

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WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID . . ."I have not seen better inlay and overlay work anywhere. This sets a standard for anyone interested in this kind of work. I personally am in awe." DW Frommer II--Member HCC********************************************************* ******** Randy Lister and Claudia Kittredge are self-proclaimed "creating fools" who can do with leather what Magic Johnson does with a basketball. by Lindsey Young - News Free Press Sports Writer ************************************************************ ****** "Their work is like Picasso compared to other leather things I've seen," Wilson says. "The portrait will be worth an incredible amount of money some day." According to Wilson, the minimum value of the portrait the Listers donated is $2500.00 "He and Claudia are just one incredible team. She works as hard as he does." "I walked into their shop last year and was so overwhelmed with their skills, their talent, but also their friendliness, they're so customer oriented." by Mac Wilson - producer Harmony Hollow Productions ************************************************************ ***** "Their one-of-a-kind pieces are just truly incredible," Berryman says. "They take a piece of leather and make it a total work of art." He describes, "We wanted to wait until the bike was all done because the seat was the crowning piece. Like any piece of art, you want a flow. I wanted a seat that just grabbed at you. The seat that you look at and say 'wow,' and that's what I got." The numbers on the four tone and volume knobs on the seat's guitar body are set to indicate 1894, the year Gibson was founded. "It's the kind of trivial thing that guitar fanatics that also like bikes will really appreciate," says Berryman. "They went through painstaking detail to get it absolutely right." Berryman expresses why they were so important. "I wanted the whole thing to reflect our company and what we do in terms of custom instruments on the level of detail." "They are such incredibly kind people," says Berryman. They really listen to their customers." by Dave Berryman, president and CEO of Gibson Guitar Inc. ************************************************************ ***** "It really should go in some sort of museum, it's that extraordinary," Elkins-Williams says. "They are the Elvis of leather." "They work so beautifully as a team, it's just amazing!" by Cristal Elkins-Williams ************************************************************ ***** "It was worth the wait. The more you look at it, the more you see the detail, the way the helmet is done with the 3-D effect," Baird explains. "He stuck to the price he quoted, even though he may have put in some extra time to get it done right. I tried for a long time to get a Steelers jacket that I really like and had given up on that, then I found them." by Rob Baird - Boot and art leather collector, Pittsburgh Steelers Fan ************************************************************ ***** We can't tell you how much we enjoyed meeting and visiting with you last week. We were totally blown away by the beauty and quality of your work, as well as your incredible enthusiasm and energy. We have never seen such a combination of talent and dedication in our industry, and we are still buzzing about it. by Ohio Travel Bag - established 1908 Leading Supplier to the Leather Industry ************************************************************ ***** "The precision in the inlay overlay and relief are only equaled by the stitch work. There are two masterpieces there." "It is so obvious that you both compliment each other. True Harmony." by Marco Zanetti - Boot and art leather collector - Ontario, Canada ************************************************************ ***** Stitching the little antlers on the deer in one of the small crests on the wings of the eagle, making sure that everything is perfectly symmetrical down to the 1/16th of an inch or even less." notices Allen. "It's absolutely incredible." The intricacies of the artwork on the jacket reminded Allen of the detail he noticed on the marble statues at the Vatican tombs of popes. "You could run your finger all the way up the fold of the robe on the statues and the marble would be perfectly polished all the way to the top. It was the whole glory of the artwork." He says the Listers have that kind of care. Upon receiving his completed jacket, his thought was that, "It was like Michaelangelo doing the Sistine Chapel. That breathless feeling, like looking at a real Monet for the first time," Allen explains. "It was that kind of feeling." by Jeff Allen - VP Finance Sony Music - Nashville ************************************************************ ***** "Thank you so much for the pictures you sent me. You remember me telling you that I had always wanted to inlay The Last Supper onto a pair of boots? I had almost given up on ever doing that. It didn't seem possible or practical anymore. As soon as I saw your work, I realized I could do it. Thanks for reminding me the boundaries are all in my head!" "Just talking to you and seeing your work has given me back an excitement that I was about to lose." "Thanks so much!" Lisa Sorrell - Sorrell Custom Boots - Guthrie, Oklahoma