small things

Made by Alejandro {handmade leather toys} giveaway!

Today’s giveaway is from Made by Alejandro.  I am really excited to introduce you to this wonderful shop!

Alejandro Ortega is the artisan toy maker of Made by Alejandro. Together with his four children, a princess and three little savages, they fight to protect their mama from the forces of evil: imagined or eight-legged, it doesn’t matter.


Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, Alejandro Ortega’s introduction to leather began in his junior year of college, while taking a theater class. He was introduced to and gravitated towards the Italian art form, Commedia d’el Arte. In 2007, he traveled to Italy for a month-long Commedia mask making course. Alejandro returned with a better understanding of what leather can do that went beyond just mask making and encouraged him to pursue his love of working with leather. Because mask making is so much fun yet such an involved process, he began doing smaller projects such as bookmarks, knife sheaths, arm bracers, cuffs, 3-ring binders, and beautiful yet practical “tools” that he uses on a daily basis in his other business as a sub-contractor. All of these helped him to get better at the skills he used in mask making but allowed him to change the application. What started as a hobby, turned into a passion for a new art medium: leather.


Alejandro has shared his skills in leather working by taking on a summer intern and by teaching classes such as mask making to adults and teenagers, quiver making to tweens, and leather tooling to children in his homeschool co-op.

The big push of going from leather as a hobby to leather as a career, came after seeing the movie How to Tame Your Dragon. An idea sparked in Alejandro’s head to make some swords and holsters for his two older children. After the first week of ow’s and ouches, he realized the kids needed shields too. At first, his toys were just for fun. He watched his children become the very heroes they admired in the movie. Then, after his friends saw these leather toys, they began placing orders, as well as telling others about his creations. He realized that this had the potential to become more than he had imagined. And within a month, Alejandro found himself with a new title and career as an artisan toymaker. He now sells reenactment toys and other beautiful items at local art fairs, a couple of natural toy stores, an Arts Center gift shop, and online through Etsy.


Before Alejandro makes anything, it has to spark a child’s imagination (starting with his own) and cause children to want to play together, be it with other children, or better yet, their parents. He makes everything by hand and is always looking to improve the way he fabricates his toys. Such as, he’s started to sew all of his swords, daggers, and elephants to ensure they are safe, durable, and will last for years to come. And all of the dyes, stains, and sealers he uses are water-based and eco friendly. This kind of attention to detail has helped make the toys children friendly and parent happy.


Alejandro is excited to giveaway two pieces that have been wildly popular with children of all ages: a classic red handled sword and holster with a Celtic knot emblem (pictured above.) Be you noble or brigand, you will be the talk of the village.

Alejandro is also offering 10% off your entire purchase with the coupon code SmallThings2012. This offer is good through this Thursday, November 15th.

For your chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post!
Comments will close and a winner will be chosen via random number generator on Monday, November 12.  The winner will be announced within this post.

Comments are closed and the winner is Jessica:  “I want these!!!!!! My boys are SOOOOO into medieval knights, they’d love, love, love to have this!!!”

Thank you, Made by Alejandro!

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Comments

  1. This are so cool! I know a bunch of little boys who would play with these all day long (probably even sleep with them)! Thanks for sharing this!

  2. Oh I can just see my children playing with these. Very well made toys. Gonna check out this website.

  9. My son, Oscar, would love these. I can already picture him rescuing his princess sisters from dragons:) Thanks so much for the giveaway.

  11. Oh! My fingers are crossed for this one! My middle son is forever rescuing princesses. Sadly, his questionably constructed lego swords rarely stand up to the job. (:

  12. I am amazed at the workmanship on these toys. You are truly an artist, Alejandro. Thank you for such a generous giveaway.
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  19. I just checked his etsy store from your site this week. Such beautiful work–just what toys are meant to be. My kids would love to find this under the tree this year!

  32. I have been eyeing his swords the last couple weeks ever since I seen he was one of your sponsors. I am going to head over and place an order for my son for his birthday. The swords and daggers are absolutely gorgeous and look like they will last, unlike the ones I have bought in the past. Would love to win the giveaway to give to my daughter!

  39. Oh my goodness! Thank you for letting us know about such a talented toy maker. I have been trying steer clear of plastic toys this year. Perfect!

  45. The items are so beautiful…and I imagine durable. My kids go through swords with some frequency and this one looks like it might stand up to them.

  46. I want these!!!!!! My boys are SOOOOO into medieval knights, they’d love, love, love to have this!!!