Carved leather saddles

Leather bicycle saddles are beautifully crafted works of art that add a classic touch to any modern or vintage bicycle. Leather saddle manufacturers such as Brooks and Gilles Berthoud are just a couple of well known companies that spring to mind. Just when I though that these traditionally classic leather saddles could not be improved upon I came across a couple of websites that have proven me wrong.

The craftsmen mentioned below take conventional Brooks or Gilles Berthoud saddles and carve beautiful designs into their leather covers.

-   MICHIEL VAN DEN BRINK   -    

Michiel started carving saddles a couple of years ago after experimenting on an old Brooks Professional saddle that he needed to replace. Impressed by his initial work he has now finely tuned his artistic skills and produces beautifully crafted custom carved saddles to order.

Here are a couple of his wonderful creations.

His craftwork is fabulous and his skills have been extended to producing equally beautiful carved matching saddle bags as well.

You can view his work and place orders on his website http://www.michielvandenbrink.com/saddles/

....and of course designs can be customised to your liking.

-   KARA GINTHER  -

Equally impressive are these carved designs by Kara Ginther. These designs can also be customised although I'd prefer to choose one of the beautifully crafted designs displayed on the website or on her flickr photostream.

Brooks Swift saddle crafted for the London Tweed Run 2010

You can view more of these stunning works of art at http://www.karaginther.com/

If you love your bicycle and are prepared to pay a little extra for something truly remarkable then these saddles are for you. So what would you expect to pay for a customised design? 

Keeping in mind that these handmade pieces of art are all individually designed and crafted by artists with special skills, expect to pay what the artisan deserves. Please see the websites for approximate prices.

Ride safe,

James @ PVC.