Leather Craftsman

I have a passion for continual learning and always moving forward. Having graduated from Melbourne High School, I next attended Brevard Community College, studying the Computer Science Program. While I enjoyed the program and learned a great deal, I had the opportunity to pursue entrepreneurship in the restaurant industry, in which I am still active today. Always possessing a creative mindset and having a passion for design, I dove into, began learning then mastering working with leather, and became a self taught leather craftsman.

Born in Mexico City, my family and I moved to the West Coast of Mexico to a little town named Tecoman, Colima. This is where I grew up and attended primary school. At the age of fourteen my family decided to leave Mexico and relocate to the United States of America. We arrived in Houston, Texas and began studying at Galena park High School for one semester. In 2001 we moved next to Palm Bay, Florida where I attended Melbourne High School. Aside from studying, I was in love with playing and watching soccer and tennis, and music. When I wasn’t at school I was playing guitar or kicking a soccer ball.

After graduating high school, I moved to New York and worked during the summer at Quaker Ridge Golf Club, manning the tennis pro shop during the day. At night, I was a server in the Quaker Ridge Dining Room. After gaining experience during my first summer in Quaker Ridge, I began teaching a few clinics for kids and playing in the Pro Am Tournaments. During the Spring and Fall, when it was cold, I was back in Florida attending college. It went this way for 5 years, stopping only in 2010 after deciding to purchase the pizzeria which I had been working in Florida during the Fall and Spring. Today, I very proudly still own that very same pizzeria in which I started working when I was fourteen years old.

In 2014 while I was exploring my local flea market, I found a Veteran working with leather to creating belts, biker wallets, and making leather repairs. I stood a moment to look and really see the process of creating and I found it very satisfying. I asked John, the Veteran, to purchase some of his leather and borrow a few of his tools, and that was the beginning. I enjoyed working with the leather and the flow of fresh, new ideas of pieces to attempt, continually learning and moving forward. I kept this as my hobby for two years. During this time, I researched and used new techniques, established relationships with tanneries, organically, as necessary, kept purchasing my tools, and created my designs and patterns. In 2018 I decided the products I had designed and created were able to deliver value in a beautiful way, so I funded Taza Leather. My home studio is the perfect place to work away from distractions enabling me to perform deep work. Deep Work is what allowed me to become an expert an expert and deliver high quality products in a considerably short amount of time. My mission with Taza Leather is to design soulfully crafted leather goods and deliver them with excellence. I will continually improve my skills and create better designs.

Watches, Porsches, Soccer, Tennis, Design, Technology, Business, Motor Sports Racing and Pugs.