MADE IN AMERICA

A California artist sets up a side hustle with leather home products.

Like many American makers, Keyaira Terry started her business from a passion. She grew up on a small farm in northern California, and her grandmother taught her the value of the land, natural beauty, upcycling and sustainability. “If we didn’t have it, we made it, and if something broke, we fixed it,” she says. She took those values with her and turned them into a boutique business.

Her online shop of leather home goods started with a homemade bag. “I made a ‘Mary Poppins’ carpet bag for myself, and then I got requests from patients (I used to work in healthcare),” she says. “I started using leather straps on the bags. It evolved from there.” Now her online shop includes items such as leather drawer pulls and handles, wall straps for coats and curtain tiebacks. She also sells homemade fiber art and wall hangings. “Wall straps and plant hammocks are my most popular products,” she says. It’s her passion for the materials she uses and the art they create that has made her successful.