Hug Hide

Hug Hide I make and repair leather items such as bags, bike seats, belts, dog collars, leads and horse tack.

I was really touched by the friendship that led to the making of this browband. After a lovely lady lost her heart horse...
08/09/2026

I was really touched by the friendship that led to the making of this browband.

After a lovely lady lost her heart horse, she wanted to keep a piece of her close so she attached a lock of her tail hair to the mare’s son’s bridle. Her amazing friends knew there had to be a better way to honor her memory rather than attaching her hair with the usual equestrian combination of plaiting bands and baler twine!

Using stealth and cunning, they managed to get their hands on a bit more of the tail hair without her knowing and sent it to me to turn into a surprise keepsake browband.

I was excited about this project because I loved the story and also, while I’ve done plenty of tail hair bracelets - which are essentially the same construction - I’ve not made a tail hair browband before.

Sometimes I get sent whole tails 😢 but in this case it was a rather skimpy amount and I was worried that it wouldn’t produce a long enough plait (kumihimo needs the hair to be around 3 times the length of the final plait) but it turned out great!

Top tip for anyone turning kumihimo tail hair plaits into bracelets or browbands: if you attach a jewellery end cap to each end of the plait using 2-part epoxy, it creates a neat finish and also makes it possible to add beads.

Here is the end result. I also made her a little tassel from the left overs which you can see here if you look closely. It is intended that this should be removed before using the browband 😁

I took a break from harness work today and enjoyed making this hunting flask holder. I still find it exciting to take a ...
28/08/2026

I took a break from harness work today and enjoyed making this hunting flask holder. I still find it exciting to take a flat piece of leather and turn it into something three dimensional. The case this is replacing was probably made in the early 1900s as it takes a glass flask that has a built-in glass straw and these were made in the period spanning from the 1880s to the 1910s and were designed to allow the rider to take a drink with one hand and keep hold of the reins with the other. I’m hoping this will also last over 100 years!

I’ve not posted much recently because it’s been so blooming hot and I’ve still got all this harness to make. Looking for...
18/08/2026

I’ve not posted much recently because it’s been so blooming hot and I’ve still got all this harness to make. Looking for something easy to do in 35 degree heat I thought I’d make the hip strap - I’ve made one of these before and thought it would be a good job for when you are feeling hot and bothered. I was wrong - this thing had around 130 inches of stitching (that’s 1040 stitches). I got there in the end and have now concluded that there are no easy bits to making a harness - silly me!

In between armfuls of thread I’ve done a few small jobs - new floof on a grackle noseband; a knife sheath - I went for super shiney edges. Finally I made a memorial bracelet and keyfob and there was such a lovely piece of tail left over that I made a tassel out of it as I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. The plait with the mix of hair and rainbow thread was a bit of an experiment that didn’t work out as well as I had hoped. I think it may end up on a rocking horse.

Oh, and there was Pablo - a little skewbald version of him. I hope he will bring some comfort to his owner.

If you’ve got a good quality bridle (this is an original Albion KB bridle) and it doesn’t fit your current horse, it’s w...
11/08/2026

If you’ve got a good quality bridle (this is an original Albion KB bridle) and it doesn’t fit your current horse, it’s worth contacting your local saddler to see if they can adjust it for you.

I shorted the bit cheekpieces, the noseband cheekpieces, the throatlash and I moved one of the noseband cheeks to make it shorter across the front to stop it from drooping. I also fixed one of the headpiece loops.

It was a quick job and just look at the difference. It could be coincidence but Zutano looks much happier wearing the adjusted bridle than he does when it was too big. He also looks a lot smarter and will be more comfortable in a correctly fitted bridle.

This bridle has sentimental value as it originally belonged to a horse that has sadly passed away but now it can continue his legacy.

This was a nice rewarding project that didn’t take too long. It’s a bag that a friend’s mum bought while on holiday in I...
07/08/2026

This was a nice rewarding project that didn’t take too long.

It’s a bag that a friend’s mum bought while on holiday in Ibiza in the 1970s. The lacing round the edge had perished and she repaired it herself, a couple of times by the looks of it, with a shoelace and a leather thong. But this did not last and at some point it got stashed at the back of the wardrobe. It was recently uncovered and both Sarah and her mum realised what a nice piece it was so sent to me for a refurb.

If you are into leatherwork and you’ve not done lacing before, give it a go, it’s a lot of fun and very rewarding.

Here are some before and after pics starting with sad little bag needing a bit of TLC and ending in proud bag, ready to go out and do some partying!

I really enjoyed this job. Thank you Sarah for trusting me with it.

Remember the bridle I made that had two nosebands and three browbands? Well I fitted it to Milo this morning and his mum...
30/07/2026

Remember the bridle I made that had two nosebands and three browbands? Well I fitted it to Milo this morning and his mum, who does not “do” bling, opted for the blingiest of the two blingy browbands (there is a dark purple one left in 17.5” if anyone wants one).

So Milo, who is quite blingy himself, now has a smart new bridle with interchangeable flat and padded nosebands and two browbands, one for showing and one for dressage.

I’m really pleased with how this came out. Connemaras are not the easiest to fit as they have triangular shaped heads and I think this looks pretty good on him.

They are off to Hickstead in the not too distant future and it will have an outing there. Good luck Milo!

Conversations with friends: Friend 1: please can you make me a bridle with an anatomical headpiece and a flat noseband a...
24/07/2026

Conversations with friends:

Friend 1: please can you make me a bridle with an anatomical headpiece and a flat noseband and browband for showing and a raised noseband for everyday and I’m not sure about the browband (after a bit of persuasion), OK a bling browband.

Me: Your bridle’s ready!

Buckling it all together like that was a bit of a joke and hopefully, all being well, we will have a picture of it being worn both ways next week and friend will have chosen between subtle and not so subtle bling.

Friend 2: the puppy ate the collar you made our miniature poodle. Please could you make us two more, just in case it happens again 🫣

Me: those tiny ickle 3/8” rolled show collars? Those ones that give me nightmares because I’m used to making kit that I know won’t break? But sure, of course. At least the puppy didn’t eat the buckle! (You can’t tell from the pics but these are so small they are like a lip strap on a show bridle.)

Friend 3: Gilbert my shire horse has sadly passed away. I’ve given the headcollar you made him to Wimpole Hall, they have big horses, it’s a shame for it to go to waste.

Me: yesterday while scrolling facebook I spotted it being worn by a beautiful Suffolk Punch mare called Joan. I’m very sad about poor Gilbert but it was so exciting to spot a piece of my work out in the big wide world. Joan has her very own pin which you can purchase if you visit Wimpole Hall and support the Suffolk Punch which is a rare breed.

A quick post to say hi to my regular followers and welcome new ones, and to tell you a little about myself.I'm guessing ...
15/07/2026

A quick post to say hi to my regular followers and welcome new ones, and to tell you a little about myself.

I'm guessing some of you have found your way here after seeing pictures of the bridle I made on Poppy Webber's page. It's a copy of a bridle that won me the Les Coker Millennium Trophy at this year's National Saddlery Awards, and I'm incredibly proud of it.

In 2021, after a lifetime with horses and years of teaching myself to repair my own tack, rugs and equipment, I left my job to pursue my dream of learning to make saddlery.

Never let anyone tell you that an old dog can’t learn new tricks! A little bit of OCD, determination and plenty of support from lots of wonderful people and five years later, I'm just one exam away from qualifying, specialising in bridle and harness making. My final challenge is to make a complete driving harness from scratch—I've finished the bridle, but there's still a lot to do and a hell of a lot of sewing ahead of me!

I hope you enjoy seeing my work and my journey, although please bear with me if my availability for commissions is a little more limited than usual over the next few months while I try to finish this massive task!

All the best, Tamara

08/07/2026

Capel Manor is where I learned my leatherworking skills.

When I started doing leatherwork a few years ago it never occurred to me that people would want me to make memorial piec...
05/07/2026

When I started doing leatherwork a few years ago it never occurred to me that people would want me to make memorial pieces for them. I started making the little leather ponies on a quiet day in the workshop without any expectations for them at all.

It’s a real pleasure to be able to make these little leather ponies and bracelets for a fellow leatherworker who has recently lost a very special horse. You may wonder why she hasn’t done them herself, she’s certainly got all the necessary skills, but I get it. I lost a much loved horse a couple of days before Christmas and I still can’t bring myself to do anything with his tail. I need someone else to do it for me.

So these are for Charlie and her mum in memory of the wonderful Jem. The keyfobs are a little extra from me because there was some of the plait left after I made the bracelets and I couldn’t throw it away.

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Cambridge

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