W.O.E. Partner Profile: Leather Works Minnesota

One of our earliest partners, Leather Works Minnesota, has been making leather goods by hand in the United States since 1999.

At Watches of Espionage, our product development model is to partner with true professionals, masters of their craft, to develop distinct and highly-functional tools that honor our community and our Use Your Tools ethos. If it doesn't follow our mantra, it doesn’t get made. In short, we design products we trust and use ourselves, first and foremost. 

As a brand, finding suppliers that manufacture exquisite products is a challenge, and one of our first partners was Leather Works Minnesota, a family-owned and operated business located in St. Paul. The relationship was born out of necessity, and today the team at LWM is an integral part of W.O.E.

Back in 2022, I returned from a trip to Africa, where I carried a Tudor Black Bay 58 and a CWC SBS. The robust tool watches handled the journey well, but the travel case I used was clunky and inefficient. I returned to the United States with an idea for a custom-made leather travel pouch to streamline my EDC, made to the exacting standards of our community. 

Our first custom Travel Pouch, made by Leather Works Minnesota with repurposed tiger camo from a vintage uniform. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.)

That search led me to Leather Works Minnesota, which has been a trusted partner through seven iterations of our Travel Pouch, made in the USA with repurposed camouflage, as well as several other custom tools. In this Dispatch, we’ll shine a light on a small family-run US company that is fighting the good fight. 

- W.O.E. 

Leather Works Minnesota 

In 1999, the husband-and-wife team of Kent & Lee Begnaud founded Leather Works Minnesota in a garage just outside St. Paul, Minnesota. Passionate about US manufacturing and disillusioned with a market saturated with poor-quality, foreign-made leather goods, the Begnauds had a dream to create a small business that honored the rich leather manufacturing heritage of the United States with handmade leather goods and accessories. Kent has experience working with leather since the 1970s, and his wife, Lee, runs the front-of-house operations. 

(Photo Credit: Nathan O'Malley)

From the beginning, every single product Leather Works Minnesota made was created completely by hand. From cutting and imprinting to piecing, sewing, and burnishing, a small team that now includes Nathan, Kent and Lee’s son, is hands-on with every step of the production process. 

The United States has a proud leather tanning history, and Leather Works Minnesota partners with the S.B. Foot Tannery, also in Minnesota, as well as the Tennessee Tanning Company and Weaver Leather in Ohio. The brand’s success didn’t come overnight. After twelve years of plugging along with a passionate but largely local following, a prominent blogger posted a Leather Works Minnesota wallet, and Martha Stewart’s team reached out while the Begnauds were still in the garage, wanting to add the brand to one of her gift guides. After that, the secret was out, and things moved quickly, bolstered by a growing Instagram account attracting national and international attention. 

Everything Leather Works Minnesota makes passes through Kent’s hands. (Photo Credit: Nathan O'Malley)

A garage space was no longer going to get the job done, and Leather Works Minnesota set up shop in a warehouse building where they would operate until 2024. Last year, the business moved to a street-level mixed production and retail space that also houses a coffee and donut shop called Joseph’s Coffee and Donuts, where you can sip a coffee, eat a donut, and watch the team manufacture leather goods in real time, which is our idea of a good time. 

Leather Works Minnesota x W.O.E. 

To date, we have created four custom tools with Leather Works Minnesota, each offering subtle elements honoring the history of the military and intelligence community while also providing legitimate utility and rugged craftsmanship. 

“It’s been an honor working with W.O.E. these past few years. It’s clear from our partnership that there is value in supporting American-made industry.” - Nathan O’Malley, Leather Works Minnesota

Travel Pouch and Challenge Coin

Version 7 of our Travel Pouch is made with Greek Army “Lizard” camo. (Photo Credit: Brock Stevens)

One of our first custom tools, dating back to October of 2022, the Travel Pouch will always be our go-to when people ask for something that encapsulates what Watches of Espionage is all about in a single product. Made from S.B. Foote leather from nearby Red Wing, Minnesota, the “keeper” of each version of the Travel Pouch uses a different camouflage pattern sourced from vintage uniforms. Over the course of seven commercially available iterations, thousands of pouches sold, and several custom unit projects, our Travel Pouch has distinguished itself as a straightforward yet refined watch carry solution for home or travel. Click HERE to learn more about the Travel Pouch & Challenge Coin. 

EDC Travel Valet & Bottle Opener

Made from full-grain US leather and water-resistant Mil-Spec Type 1 Class A Olive Drab canvas, the EDC Travel Valet & Bottle Opener is a simple yet thoughtfully designed solution for keeping valuables and other small items organized while on the move. Capable of lying completely flat for a lower profile in a briefcase or backpack, four brass snaps allow the valet to safely hold a wide variety of items once you reach your destination. Over time, our valets develop a patina unique to each user and use case while being durable enough for years of faithful service. Click HERE to learn more about the EDC Travel Valet & Bottle Opener. 

Leather & Canvas Moleskine Cover

Key items for any Case Officer’s EDC are a notebook and something to write with. During his operational career, W.O.E. religiously carried a Moleskine notebook and a Pilot G2 pen. Elevating the concept to meet the discerning needs of our community, we worked with Leather Works Minnesota to create the Leather & Canvas Moleskine Cover, manufactured by hand from the same Mil-Spec canvas and full-grain leather as our EDC Travel Valet. Designed to accommodate a Large Classic Moleskine Soft Cover Notebook, which is included, each Moleskine Cover has a subtle W.O.E. Spearhead patch on the exterior and a single interior card slot stamped with “Use Your Tools”. Click HERE to learn more about the Leather & Canvas Moleskine Cover. 

W.O.E. Leather Patches

(Photo Credit: Nathan O'Malley)

Our leather W.O.E. patches are made from stamped mahogany Tennessee Tanning leather with red trim stitching made from durable nylon. Each patch has a hook backing for attaching to plate carriers, backpacks, hats, and any hook-and-loop aspect of your EDC. Available as either the W.O.E. Spearhead, which honors the history of the Office of Strategic Service, or the full Watches of Espionage roundel insignia, our Leather Patches are a subtle show of inclusion in our community that is produced to the highest standards possible by Kent, Lee, and the team at Leather Works Minnesota. Click HERE to learn more about our Leather Patches. 

(Photo Credit: Nathan O'Malley)

Final Thoughts 

In an era when most brands chase scale at the expense of soul, Leather Works Minnesota stands as a testament to the enduring value of craftsmanship, character, and commitment to, as they like to say, fighting the good fight. Their small-batch, hands-on approach mirrors our own ethos at W.O.E.: to create tools that mean something, last, and connect us to a lineage of makers and practitioners who take pride in their work. 

From the first Travel Pouch prototype stitched in St. Paul to our latest custom tools, our partnership with Kent, Lee, and the team has never been about chasing trends; it’s about honoring heritage, utility, and the people who still believe that “Made in the USA” means something.

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