Meet more makers in the November/December 2026 feature.
Joshua Enright knows the power of curiosity. In 2015, he spotted a knife sheath at an estate sale and thought, “I can do that.” Watching tutorials led to experimenting with patterns and learning to stitch together a leather wallet, then a laptop bag. Two years later, Enright began handmaking goods under the name Cedar Barrel Leather Co.
His workshop takes over a spare bedroom in the Newburgh home he shares with his wife, Lindsey. All punching, cutting, sewing, and assembling is done by hand. Enright prefers using “chrome tan” leather, which is water-resistant and, unlike natural leather, already dyed when purchased. Next, he punches out holes, cuts the pattern in the leather, sews the pieces together, and bevels the edges. A large handbag with fringe and double cap rivets may require around 500 holes and need 4-5 hours to assemble. “My equipment can punch six (holes) at a time — 10 stitches per minute,” he says.
Enright finds patterns online and prefers a box cutter to a specialized knife because “they are big and bulky and you have to keep them sharp.” It’s often a one-man job out of necessity. “It’s a different kind of sewing,” he says. “In a saddle stitch, you use one thread for the entire line. If it breaks along the seam, the whole thread will have to come out.”
Since 2017, leatherwork has been the University of Southern Indiana graduate’s side gig as he’s worked various jobs in accounting, finance, and tech. He makes between 50 and 100 items a year, including wallets, notebook covers, and leather key chain clips, and sells them online and occasionally at events. His curious nature has led to an eight-bottle wine bag for a sommelier and a plague-doctor mask because Enright needed a Halloween costume.
And that knife sheath idea that started it all? Enright laughs: “I never got to it.”
What’s In A Name?
The name Cedar Barrel Leather Co. pays homage to three generations of makers: Aside from Joshua Enright’s leatherwork, his grandfather worked for a lumber mill, while his mother decorates with furniture made from wooden barrels.
