Custom Leather Expressions

    Turn Your Deer Hide into a Conversation Piece

                                  Measurements & Handling

All our products are one-of-a-kind.  We custom create your item from skins you provide or skins we have tanned.  No two are alike.  The possibilities are endless!
So..........
1) Either we can send your hides in to get tanned and produce something.
(Process time is about 9 months to a year from start to finish)
(We are temporarily NOT accepting hides at this time)

2) You can send us your tanned hide to produce something.
(Process time is about 8 weeks start to finish)

3) We can produce items from our leather inventory.
(Process time is about 8 weeks start to finish)  Steps must be taken immediately to reduce the growth of bacteria which can have a negative impact on your hide.  Temperature effects the bacterial growth.  The following is a rough guide for removal of hide from the carcass.

60 degrees    = 1 hour
50 degrees    = 1 hour
40 degrees    = 2 hours
32 degrees    = 4 hours
20 degrees    = 6 hours

1) Skin the deer as soon as possible after the harvest.  As many of you know, it is a lot easier to skin a deer when it's warm versus after a few days.  The additional benefit is that you can pull the hide off with your hands using a knife sparingly to minimize any cuts or holes to the hide.

2) Lay the hide out flat with the flesh side up and apply a generous amount of non-iodized salt to the entire hide.  (Canning, pickling, or mixing salt) DO NOT USE ROCK SALT.  The salt should be rubbed into the skin, not just poured.  You CAN'T overdo this step, so make sure you rub enough salt to cover every inch of the hide.

3) Fold hide in half with the hair facing out.  Roll the hide up like a sleeping bag and place on an incline to allow fluids to drain away.  It helps to have a sink drain or bath tub to allow for drainage.  Just don't leave it in a sink or tub that your wife uses.....very bad.

4) After 24 hours, check the hide for moisture.  If it seems excessively wet, it doesn't hurt to reapply salt to the hide; basically repeating steps 2 and 3.  The hide does not have to be completely dry to ship.

5) Ship with enough paper or material to absorb any excess moisture.  Place hide into a heavy duty plastic bag.  Place bag in a box and ship next day to avoid any possibility of spoilage.

6) Ship to the following address via common carrier or US Postal Service:
Customer Leather Expressions
12213 S. Copeland Rd.
Solon Springs, WI 54873