davisleather

[davisleather]

So today, we took a trip down to the J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works close by in Malden, WV. Just 10 short minutes down the road, Lewis Payne and Nancy Bruns — the descendants of J. Q Dickinson — have restarted the family business of making salt right here in West Virginia. Yes, you read that right. Salt. Here in West Virginia. Believe it or not, West Virginia has it’s very own ocean. No beaches, unfortunately, but an ocean nonetheless! Beneath the ground lies the Iapetus Ocean, a saltwater ocean which has been bubbling up throughout the Kanawha Valley for centuries. Local historians say that the salt was being used by local Native American tribes for ages, and that a kidnapped white settler, Mary Draper Ingles, became proficient at capturing the salt from the brine and passed on the knowledge once rescued. In the 1800’s, the valley was full of salt-works where the brine was boiled down in large boilers to produce the salt which was sent to the meat processing plants in Ohio. As Morton’s salt and other conglomerates began taking over the salt market, the Dickinson salt-works closed its doors in the 1950’s and the land was passed down through the family. Then, several years ago, Lewis and Nancy decided to once again take up the family business. This time, however, they decided to go with solar heating, rather than boiling off the water via wood and coal-stoked furnaces. We pulled into the old Terra Salis property (once a local landscaping firm) and made our way inside the main office. We were quickly greeted by Nancy, who set us up with a tour. Our guide, a young lady named Ashton, was knowledgeable and walked us around the property. First she told us about the Iapetus Ocean and the history of the salt trade here in the Kanawha Valley. We ended the first section of our walk at the site of the current well. Rather than a hundred foot tall structure of ages past, the visible well is now just a pipe junction just above the surface of the ground. A small piece of an old well structure sits atop it, marking it’s location so that it isn’t mowed over when the hay is cut. She then walked us towards the holding tanks and “sunhouses”. The brine is pumped up and placed into large holding tanks (which are painted black to absorb heat) where the iron present in the water is allowed to settle and is then filtered out. The brine is then pumped into the “sunhouses”, which function as solar-powered evaporators. In raised beds lined with thick black plastic, the brine begins to evaporate and the salt begins to crystallize. Once it reaches a certain stage, it is then moved to a secondary building (still solar-heated) where it is “harvested” over time as the salt continues to crystallize. Once most of the salt has been crystallized, there is still a salty brine — called nagari — left over, which is then bottled and sold for use in making products like tofu and ricotta cheese, or imbibed for it’s health properties. J.Q. Dickinson prides itself in it’s small environmental footprint, and our guide pointed out that even the iron that is filtered out in the first steps is saved and sold for use in ceramics. Once the salt has been harvested, it is then placed into flower pots and allowed to drain (flower pots due to the drainage holes in the bottom). It is then moved into another building where it is laid out on flour sack towel-lined pans to dry further. After drying for a specific period of time, the towels are rolled up into “burritos”. These are then allowed to dry further, and eventually are poured out onto another flour sack towel-lined pan and inspected — by hand — for impurities and anything that doesn’t belong (grass, bugs, etc), which are removed with tweezers. Once inspected, the salt is sorted by crystal size (large for grinding salts, medium for finishing salts, and fine for popcorn salt) and then packaged and placed into inventory or shipped to wholesalers and restaurants around the world. Each batch of salt takes 4–6 weeks to complete (up to 3 months in the winter, at which time the salt-works is closed to the public), and the “Best Salt in the World” (at least according to judges at the 1851 First World’s Fair in London) is well worth the wait! In addition to their “Heirloom” salt, J.Q. Dickinson also offers Apple-Wood Smoked Salt (cold-smoked on the premises) as well as Ramp Salt, which contains a hint of the local wild leek flavor. We really enjoyed our visit to the J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works, and Davis Leatherworks is now in discussions to begin carrying some of their goods (most likely the 1 oz. jars of heirloom, smoked, and ramp salts) in our store! Keep an eye out for more news here on our Facebook page or via our e-mail newsletter! J.Q.Dickinson is open to the public and tours are available Mid-April through November, Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am ’til 4 pm. More information can be found at their website, http://www.jqdsalt.com/.

#foodie #food #salt #sea salt #West Virginia #wv #artisan #davisleatherworks

[davisleather]

Field Notes Wallet in Brown Somerset and a Vertical Snap Wallet in Hermann Oak Natural Veg-Tan Leather...

#hermannoak #natural vegtan #wallet #madeintheusa #davisleatherworks #handmade

[davisleather]

Wow... It’s been a long time, Tumblr! Sorry about that!

Another sewing machine practice piece... I think I may be getting the hang of this thing!

Card/Cash Wallet in Horween Dark Cognac Dublin (Waxed Flesh) lined with Anchor Print Fabric...

#davisleatherworks #handmade #madeintheusa #horween dublin #horween #cognac dublin #wallet

[davisleather]

[davisleather]

[davisleather]

[davisleather]

Sometimes you can just tell that a cow liked to get in knife fights in its spare time... Y'know? 😉

#Horween #Dublin #leather #wallet #davisleatherworks #handmade #madeintheusa

[davisleather]

Horween Cognac Dublin Desk Pad and Black and Brown Chromexcel Dopp Kits

#horween #horween dublin #chromexcel #dopp kit #davisleatherworks #handmade #madeintheusa #leather #brown #black

[davisleather]

I've been taking cold medicine for the past day or so, and I don't really trust myself working on "paying" orders (I tend to be woozy and fuzzy, lol), so I finally got around to making myself a "Mini-Targe". One 7" round piece of wood from Walmart, one 7" round piece of leather, and a few hours... Not the greatest, but I like it!

#leather #handmade #targe #mini-targe #Davis Leatherworks #Celtic knot #celticknot

[davisleather]

My Father- and Brother-in-Law have new website! Check out their hand-made knives at http://hoysforge.bigcartel.com and maybe even find a Christmas present for that "hard-to-buy-for" friend or family member!

#handmade #knives #custom #made in the usa #knife #sharp #forged #hoys forge

[davisleather]

Coin Pouches and a Custom Large Wallet are up in the shop!

http://davisleatherworks.com/products/coin-pouch http://davisleatherworks.com/products/large-wallet

#coin pouch #coinpouch #wallet #handmade #made in the usa #davis leatherworks #horween

[davisleather]

New bi-fold wallets have been added to the shop in Horween Burnt Natural Cavalier and Brown Chromexcel Croc-Print Horsehide, Missouri Sunshine, and Black and Brown Chromexcel with Caiman and Elephant exotic leather inlays!

Bi-folds: http://davisleatherworks.com/products/bifold Bi-folds with Exotic Inlays: http://davisleatherworks.com/prod…/bi-fold-with-exotic-inlay

#horween #leather #handmade #wallets #bifold #davis leatherworks #made in the usa #brown #black #elephant #caiman #alligator

[davisleather]

15 Days Left of Davis Leatherworks' Card Wallet Kickstarter and it's almost 45% funded! Please help me reach my goal by sharing, and a big THANK YOU to those who have already and those who have backed the project thus far! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davisleatherworks/davis-leatherworks-card-wallets

#Kickstarter #card wallet #wallet #handmade #leather #Horween #Davis Leatherworks #made in the USA

[davisleather]

Small Business Saturday is starting a little early at Davis Leatherworks! Use coupon code THANKYOU at checkout to receive 30% off your order total! http://www.davisleatherworks.com

#davisleather #davis leatherworks #handmade #made in the USA #coupon code #small biz #smallbusinesssaturday #small business saturday

[davisleather]

Hey Guys, I just launched a Kickstarter for Davis Leatherworks' Two and Three Pocket Card Wallets! I'm looking to raise $2,000 over the next 30 days in order to buy Horween Brown and Black Chromexcel, Dublin, and Natural Veg-Tan to put them into production! The first 50 backers will be able to get the Two Pocket Card Wallet for $30 (Retail: $40) and the Three Pocket Wallet for $40 (Retail: $50) Please check it out and share it!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davisleatherworks/davis-leatherworks-card-wallets

#leather #handmade #davis leatherworks #horween #brown #black #dublin #veg tan #card wallet #wallet #card #made in the usa #kickstarter

[davisleather]

Two Pocket Card Wallet in Horween Black Chromexcel is up in the shop!

http://davisleatherworks.com/products/two-pocket-card-wallet

#horween #black #chromexcel #handmade #made in the usa #davis leatherworks #davis leather #card wallet

[davisleather]

New in the shop today! Pencil pouches in Horween Black Chromexcel!

http://davisleatherworks.com/products/pencil-pouch

#horween #black #chromexcel #handmade #made in the usa #pencil pouch #pencil case #pouch #davis leatherworks #davis leather