The Mexican Blanket Belt from California’s Make Smith is handcrafted out of beeswax treated cowhide and repurposed Mexican blanket fabric. As colorful as it is durable, the MBB is a great looking – and long lasting – way to keep your pants from falling south of the border (that’s it, I quit). Read More »

There’s a lot to like about the belts from South Carolina’s Orion Leather Co. They’re handcrafted in the USA from an array of high-quality vegetable-tanned leathers. They come in a wide variety of styles, including dress, work and western. And, their prices range from a super reasonable $31 per, to a just as reasonable $47 per. Read More »

There are a lot of “hand-” prefixes in the description of the Sweet Spot Belt from Texas’ Bexar Goods Co. The (domestically sourced vegetable-tanned) leather is hand-cut. The hole is hand-stamped. The keeper is hand-stitched. The rivets are hand-hammered. The buckle is hand-forged. In short, it’s hands-down one of the most hand-crafted belts on the market. Read More »

Welcome to the 3rd installment of the 2011 Well Spent Holiday Gift Guide. More sub-$40 goodness below. Check back this afternoon for post number 4. Read More »

What’s on sale RIGHT NOW.

The good folks from Chicago’s Sir & Madame (you remember them from last week, right?) are knocking 15% off their entire stock from now through Sunday. Choice US-made goodies include outerwear from 3Sxiteen, boots from Red Wing, jeans from LVC, leather goods from Tanner, and of course, S&M’s own in-house line (those bags!). Enter code “15OFF” at checkout to get the discount. Read More »

What’s on sale RIGHT NOW.

Don’t let the name fool you, there’s nothing wrong with the “Factory Seconds” from Portland, OR’s Wood&Faulk. As W&F founder and maker Matt Pierce explains, they’re only called that because, “after making a batch, I realized I wanted a heavier, waxier English bridle leather.” Fair enough. The two belts that make-up the seconds collection are crafted from 11 oz. vegetable-tanned English bridle leather, feature a rolling center bar buckle in your choice of brass or nickle, and, are priced significantly lower than the rest of the W&F range. Read More »

The Lightweight Tool Belt from Klein Tools, a haiku:

Made in USA,
Raw leather, nickel hardware,
And only twelve bucks.

Read More »

From the pounding of his hammer, to the holler of his voice, to the burn of his homemade moonshine, Cause & Effect founder Billy Moore is consistently one of NorthernGRADE’s most entertaining personalities, not to mention one of the most talented. I had the good fortune to walk away with a river belt this year (see the photo at the link above for a making-of shot), and it is an absolute work of art. I highly, highly recommend picking up some of his stuff. Read More »