Leatherworking comes naturally for young entrepreneur

• David Walt, 16, of Franklin loves to work with his hands, a trait he attributes to an ancestry rooted in a long lineage of farmers.
• Walt started FarmStrongCo in January when his pastor taught him the craft of making leather goods.
• Walt named his company FarmStrongCo because he wants to carry on his family's legacy.
• The Barn Door will spotlight his work during the December Franklin Art Crawl.

David Walt, 16, of Franklin loves to work with his hands, a trait he attributes, in part, to an ancestry rooted in a long lineage of farmers.

“My father is a farmer, my grandfather is a farmer, his father was, and his father before him,” Walt says.

So when it came time to name his leatherworks business, he chose to pay homage to those farming roots.

“I named my business FarmStrongCo because I want to carry on their legacy. My mission is to urbanize the agrarian, and to create handcrafted goods for the farmer in all of us,” Walt says.

The Franklin home he shares with parents J.D. and Tiffani Walt and younger siblings Mary Kathryn, Lily and Samuel may not be located on a farm, but it is richly planted with core values of hard work, dedication, persistence, sowing and reaping.

His father is a licensed attorney, theologian, entrepreneur and publisher and his mother is the creative director for Bison Home Builders. Needless to say, David is surrounded by strong support for his entrepreneurial creative endeavors.

Walt started FarmStrongCo in January when his pastor, Jason McAnally (Home Church Nashville), taught him the craft of making leather goods.

As a new father and full-time pastor, McAnally was unable to sustain his leather goods business (called Kindfolk), so he was thrilled to pass along his knowledge to an eager young apprentice.

“I showed David a few tips and connected him with sources for the best leather and hardware, because it takes great leather to make great leather products. David is naturally a craftsman, so he was doing good work within weeks and great work within months. He has surpassed me in both knowledge and skill,” McAnally says. “He's getting experience at an age when most of us were just getting an education.”

Walt took the skills he learned from McAnally, purchased scrap pieces of leather, and began creating his own designs.

“As I became more interested in leather work, I started selling some of my work to friends and family, so I created an Instagram account (Instagram.com/farmstrong.co) to grow my business,” Walt says.

Walt’s FarmStrongCo products soon caught the eye of local merchant Peggy Franks, owner of The Barn Door in Franklin. Franks began carrying his products in her store.

“I am so impressed with the quality of the FarmStrong products. We try to feature as many local products as we can in our store and David’s leather goods are a perfect addition to our handcrafted wares,” Franks said. “They’ve been extremely popular.”

Franks created a unique display in her store for FarmStrongCo products by hanging a finely crafted wooden boat from the ceiling and decorating it with seasonal accents. She is also hosting David Walt as The Barn Door’s featured artist for the Franklin Art Scene’s First Friday Art Crawl in December.

The Art Crawl event will include live music and complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres.

FarmStrongCo’s leather goods are hand cut from fine leather and hand-stitched using the saddle stitch technique to ensure durability. The leather used is from Horween Leather Company, one of the oldest continuously running tanneries in the United States. Products include hats, wallets, journal covers, Mason jar koozies, and more, all hand-stamped with the FarmStrongCo logo.

For more information, visit www.farmstrong.co or email TheFarmStrong@gmail.com.

If you go

What: David Walt is The Barn Door’s featured artist for Franklin Art Scene’s December First Friday Art Crawl. There will be live music and complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres.

When:  6-9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2

Where: The Barn Door, 109 S. Margin St., Franklin

Admission: Free and open to the public.

More information: For a complete list of the Franklin Art Crawl’s participating locations, visit www.franklinartscene.com.