Cocktail Workshop with Make Smith Leather Co.

I was first introduced to Make Smith Leather Co. and its founder, third generation leather craftsman Steven Soria, at a local craft fair in Santa Barbara. Family-owned and operated, Make Smith is a brand built on tradition and craftsmanship, with a product offering that spans accessories to home goods, made by hand, one at a time, in their local workshop.

I was taken by the workmanship of Steven’s pieces and the story behind them, and a collaboration for my home store felt a natural fit. The combination of leather and his masculine hand lent itself perfectly to a bar concept, and the resulting collection of handmade goods is nothing short of gorgeous. Included in the capsule: a wood and leather bar tray, a bronze-casted leather bottle opener, and leather coasters.

To celebrate the collaboration and put the wares to use, we hosted a cocktail workshop at my Montecito Home store. For the occasion, local mixologist and barista Nick Purvis created two delicious, innovative cocktails, including the gin-based A Floral Affair, with white tea and lavender, topped off with Lillet/Champagne, and The Twisted Spoke, a tequila-based concoction with a nectarine/grapefruit mash, topped with ginger beer. Making the pairing and workshop that much better, Nick and Steven are friends, and part of Santa Barbara’s burgeoning community of artisans and small batch makers.

Stay tuned later this week for a look inside Make Smith’s traditional leather crafting workshop. XXJKE

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