Hi, I’m Jo
As I gave Skylar a whole page dedicated to introducing you to her, I figured I should also introduce myself properly…
Hi, I am Jo, but you probably knew that already given that my site is so imaginatively named! 😂
I live in Wales with my long term fella, Tim and our doggy princess Skylar. Though I love photography and video making, my main job is running my leathercraft business, J.H.Leather. I have been running this since I moved up here in 2014 after finishing my apprenticeship is saddlery. The main business has changed a lot over the years from when I first set it up and was mostly focusing on creating bespoke leather dog collars, to more fine leather goods like wallets and creating video tutorials on YouTube and on the back of that, running 1:1 workshops for all ability levels for those looking to start learning leather craft or advance their current skills.
As well as running the leathercraft business, I also had a photography business Life in RAW, where I was based at Revolution Bike Park (that is the business Tim owns with his brother) and I would photograph the riders and sell these as digital files. I was photographing there every weekend for many years and in 2022 I was also starting to build up the park’s YouTube Channel by making video content for them. Unfortunately, this mostly wrapped up at the beginning of 2023 due to the park having to close due to a tree disease which meant the whole site has had to be clear felled and replanted.
When I am not behind the camera or crafting, a new (ish) hobby is sailing. Though I am not the most confident and enjoy the idea of sailing rather than the actual sailing part, in 2019 Tim purchased a 23ft Leisure sailing boat we called the Salty Sea Dog. The boat is based on the West Coast of Scotland, and we have had many an adventure on board, with our biggest trip to date in 2022 where we sailed from Rosneath around the Mull of Kintyre and up to the Isle of Mull. Though I am a big chicken and as soon as the boat heels over more than 5° from perfectly upright I am white knuckling the handholds (that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea) I do really enjoy being out on the water with Tim and Skylar, staying in some magical places. We also have a YouTube channel dedicated to our sailing adventures if you are interested in following along with us.
One of the main things that I like to do is walking, well hiking I guess, and taking Skylar along with me (I would bring Tim, but he isn’t a keen walker). Though I have mostly stuck to a tight radius of my house (I am working on going further) I really enjoy being out in nature. I am very lucky to live where we do and have access to some wonderful locations and this, along with my photography and love of film making is what has led me to starting this blog site. Though I am still getting to grips with the ol’ writing part, it is helping to push me out of my comfort zone and into some new amazing places that I wouldn’t have otherwise visited.
So I don’t drag this post out with unnecessary drivel, I will leave it here. Thank you for reading and I hope you come back and join Skylar and I on some adventures in the British countryside.