In spite of starting at 4:30 am every day, renowned saddle maker Cary Schwarz has, until now, found it hard to take a break. Order books are full for a couple of years ahead and the work just keeps coming.
He and his wife live in the mountains in Salmon, Idaho, U.S., and for years they’ve struggled to make time for an off-grid cabin they own, three hours drive away, or to visit family and friends.
My wife and I had been discussing spending more time at this ranch property that she grew up on, and so I told her, well, honey, we got a few bills to pay, so we need to figure out how I’m going to keep some workflow.
That all changed when they came up with a really practical solution that provided two solutions in one. They fitted out an ex toy-hauler as a mobile workshop and provided it with enough go-anywhere solar energy to power the lights, run his craft machinery …and use it as a plug in power plant for their mountain cabin.
Ninety nine percent of what I do is custom made and so I’ve got a very, very long list of commissions – many years, frankly. A customer came to me with a historical saddle in mind – one that was ridden by the legendary horseman Tom Dorrance, whose saddle was left to a family in California and pictures of it have circulated online …and so this customer said he just had to have something like that – but turned me loose when it came to some of the artistry on it. It has a fairly bold floral design and so we went with big flowers that are four inches across in places, which has been awesome. I’ve really enjoyed that process.
His wife’s family’s ranch home is a ‘dry’ cabin – no water, no electricity – but they always wanted to get power into it to install a little refrigerator and have lights. So one thing kind of led to another, and I’ve got a mobile saddle shop with a power outlet so the cabin can just plug in to my mobile power system. And now the whole idea is we can maybe head south for a couple of months in the wintertime.
I can see the possibility of having an order from someone on a ranch in Montana, Wyoming or Nevada or California, and loading up the workshop – going to that ranch and building their saddle parked in ‘the orchard over yonder’. They get to check in on progress – which is a big part of what I do with my customers now. How many people – even accomplished horsemen – have seen a saddle made?
