Jarrett Van Curen begins most of his days at 3 a.m., working in the small shop connected to the garage next to his Pittsburg home.
He spends the next three hours sitting at a vintage Landis leather stitcher – put into service decades before he was even born – or at one of the other machines circling his shop, perfecting his craft, before putting his tools away and getting ready to spend the rest of the day teaching Ag Mechanics to students at Big Sandy High School.
When Van Curen was their age and a student at Pittsburg High School, he thought it would be a good idea to join a friend working at a local western wear store.
I was looking for a job and I didn’t want to sweat,” laughs Van Curen.
Besides air conditioning, the store also had a boot repair shop. When there were no customers shopping for clothing, the young Van Curen was tasked with helping with the repairs.
“I started out cleaning and breaking them down to get them ready for new soles,” Van Curen said. “I gradually worked my way up to sole stitching and other repairs.”
After high school, Van Curen continued working with leather while attending college at North Texas Community College and later at Texas A&M Commerce – making belts, wallets and other tooled leather items in his spare time – paying for most of his college education with the proceeds of his hobby.