small things

Made by Alejandro {handmade leather toys giveaway!}

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

made by alejandro

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.

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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 a homeschool co-op.

handmade leather swords and shield

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 natural toy store, Arts Center gift shops, and online through both his Made by Alejandro website and Etsy.

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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. He now sews 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.

madeby alejandro2014

Alejandro is excited to giveaway a three-piece accessory set that children of all ages will enjoy: a red EYE PATCH, a red-laced “Where the Wild Things are” CROWN, and a pair of red laced WRIST CUFFS. 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 SmallThings2014. This offer is good through Thursday, November 13th.

For your chance to win, leave a comment on this post. For an additional chance, “like” Made by Alejandro on Facebook and leave a second comment letting me know you have done so.

Comments are closed and the winner is Kathy, who commented, “Oh my goodness…LOVE!  Mom of six boys here, this is awesome!”

Thanks, Alejandro!

handmade leather toys

Reader Interactions

Comments

  15. I’ve been wanting to order something from this shop for a while now. One of my boys is big into knights and always wants to dress the part. Thanks for the chance!

  17. My three sons may be a little too old for these now – but they would have begged for them just a few years ago! They are still perfect for my little nephew who loves to dress up!

  24. Wow! Our boys would LOVE these! Great, great, great suggestion for a lasting toy! Soo much better than what else is out there!

  25. I would love the chance for my son to enjoy these! They are beautiful! Thank you for the opportunity

  30. I bought his sword/sword belt for my son as a gift last year and it is fabulous! He would love this set too!!

  33. What a sweet gift package…thank you! While my children will enjoy these, I think my nephew might just like an elephant. How sweet.

  46. Fabulous craftsmanship! I would love to cultivate this type of learning/play with my grandchildren! Thanks so much for the opportunity!

  49. My boy would so love to add to our few non-princessy dress up clothes! (one of the perils of 5 big sisters…)