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Who is MK?
Hey there! I'm Matt Korchinski, the maker here at MK Custom Leather.
I was raised and planted my roots in Ponoka, Alberta, and I'm damn proud to call this place my home! My introduction to leather work and the western lifestyle was "late onset" in comparison to most. From my first experience wrestling calves in a branding pen in my high school years, to gathering and sorting pairs in the fall on horseback, it was love and adoration for those who live and breathe in this space. Leather work was another quickly founded love. From the completion of my very first project out of a Tandy starter kit, I was hooked. It was terrible and you'll never see it, but that is what set my love for the craft on fire. I knew I could do better. I still know I can do better. That's what keeps me pushing forward to create wearable and workable pieces of art.
From a clean and classy belt to hang your gold buckle dreams on, to the rig you work in daily, my goals are big and my hunger to pursue them at my highest ability is just as big.
When I'm not spending time at the tooling block, you can find me a number of places. From hunting and adventuring through some of Alberta's most beautiful backcountry, to the lush fairways and groomed greens on some of Albertas best golf courses. Come the July long weekend, you'll find me on the grounds of the Ponoka Stampede volunteering as a salesman for their world famous "Instant Cattle Raffle" tickets. I also work as a heavy equipment operator which has taken me from endless crop fields under the shadow of Chief Mountain, to the oil sands mines in Northern Alberta.
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