About Us
Hi, I’m Silas.
I’m 28. I live in Southeast Portland in an old house that creaks when you walk upstairs. My girlfriend Maya and I rent it. The garage is mine. Inside: a Singer sewing machine, a pegboard with leather tools, and at least one pair of jeans hanging from a nail.
I take clothes apart. Not to destroy them. To see what works.
Some people collect wine. I collect ripped seams and loose threads in a notebook. Date, brand, what I learned, what I’d change. That notebook is half full. It’s also stained with coffee and wax.
I’m not a stylist. I don’t care about looking taller. I care about why a $40 jacket outlasts a $300 one. I care about thread tension, hardware, fabric weight. Stuff you can touch.
Background
I studied fashion design. Worked for a heritage workwear brand for three years. Good people. Learned a lot about mass production and quality control.
Then I quit.
Not because I was mad. Because I wanted to do my own thing. Slower. Smaller. Honestly, I was tired of explaining why cheap materials disappoint people.
Now I run this blog and sell handmade leather goods on Etsy. Small batch. Wallets, belt bags, modified jeans. I sew everything in the garage. Sometimes at night with a record playing. Sometimes I mess up and have to start over.
Last month I cut a leather wallet backwards. Didn't notice until I tried to fold it. Maya just laughed. I laughed too. Then I cut a new piece.
That’s the real version. Not perfect. Just patient.
My People
Maya. She’s 27. Graphic and visual designer. Works at a small studio downtown. We met at a record shop five years ago. I was looking for 70s blues. She was looking at a movie poster. A friend introduced us.
She’s the one who designed this website. The logo, the spacing, the quiet brown and green colors. She shoots most of the photos you see here. I just make the things she photographs.
Maya also keeps me honest. If I write something pretentious, she says “don’t say that.” If I buy another pair of jeans I don’t need, she just looks at me. That look works better than any argument.
No kids. Just the house, a vegetable garden we both forget to water, and too many records.
The rest of my people. Other makers I’ve met online. Leather workers in Oregon. Denim heads on Reddit who actually help instead of flex. I don’t name-drop. You’ll just see me link to their small shops sometimes.
What This Isn’t
No “five ways to style a jacket.” No “this season’s must-have color.” No affiliate links in every sentence. No hustle culture.
I don’t tell you you’re doing things wrong. I just show you how I do them. You can ignore me. That’s fine.
The Promise
Good things last. Bad things don’t.
That’s not clever. It’s just true after fifteen years of wearing stuff until it falls apart.
Thanks for being here.
— Silas