Tactile Craftworks - Flask
Our stainless steel flasks are wrapped in natural vegetable tanned leather from Wickett & Craig in Curwensville, Pennsylvania. We hand carve or laser etch each die cut flask, and treat them with penetrating oil dye and a custom-formulated, water-resistant sealer before stitching them with artificial sinew. We then cement the leather to the flask for maximum durability.
Tactile Craftworks is a woman-owned and operated leather crafting company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, founded in 2014 by Sarah Heck and Anna Warren.
“We had been collaborating on hand-crafted projects since meeting in a theater prop shop in 2008. We knew we wanted to continue a shared aesthetic into a new project, and began by selling product at farmers markets and local fairs. Since making the transition to wholesale in 2016, we now partner with over 200 retailers nationwide, and continue to craft each piece by hand. Our work is most inspired by the idea of place, and our emotional responses to both home and travel. We take pride in our methods of using modern technologies to enhance our traditional skills. We value quality, heritage, history, and longevity; working to decrease the disposable and give story to the ordinary. We strive to make pieces that are durable to use, beautiful to look at, and satisfying to hold.”
Sarah Heck was born in Arizona and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. An interest in leatherwork began at her childhood summer camp, and reignited for a Period Styles project while she was completing her BFA in Theater Design and Technology at the University of Evansville. After taking a workshop in Coptic Bookbinding, she began developing product that combined leather carving and tooling, and hand stitching with sinew.
Sarah is working to visit every National Park in the US. After living in Milwaukee for over 12 years, she recently moved to San Francisco to pursue a decade long dream of calling the west home.
Anna Warren has traveled far and wide, but has called Milwaukee home for the last 33 years. Her roots are in crafting for the stage; she has made her living making props in Milwaukee and Santa Fe, NM since 2005.
Anna's passion is world travel, but while she is saving up for the next trip (Austria) she tries to fit in yoga, putzing around on the internet, enjoying local coffee and beers, crafting with her friends, canoeing, and reading. Her greatest adventure to date has been her marriage to Mike. Anna and Mike live in their wonky house with their two dogs and two cats- and an army of tiny ninjas.