Imagine the scene: a dim dark cell, almost like a cellar in a horror movie. Literally a "Hole"Bang! Bang! Crash! In the lamplight glow, the pounding of saddlers' tools can be heard. "Grrr! You woke me up again!" a sleepy Staffie growls in the corner.

Cold, damp almost as if in a rainforest, with the saddlers' goggles becoming moist with dew. Wipers would not be out of place on the windowpanes.

"Hurry, hurry, a delivery! But where did I put the customer's order?" One of the saddlers scurries around the workshop. Like Pampalini, the legendary hunter, he is hunting down the piece of paper with the order. So many things and so little space! It is a small miracle that this team is able to work, to manufacture items and even to deliver them in time to customers. Who is in the team? This slumbering dog, that's our Ken. The aforementioned team of saddlers? Well, we are it! That's how it was. Until the time when the harsh environment of the dark 'hole' almost caused a community of patients. Aching backs, rheumatism, deteriorating eyesight.

"That's it, gentlemen! This has to stop! This is the end!" Stop. Finíto. The end. Fin. We ceased the saddlery manufacture — and relocated to a new workshop. It was hard labour to sort out, pack up, load, transport, unpack and rearrange everything. Heavy machines, tools, instruments, a lot of material, unfinished orders for collars, leads and dog tags for impatient Staffies and their masters and mistresses.

Voila! We did it!

Bang! Bang! Crash! In the glow of the large shining windows, the pounding of saddlers' tools resounds. "Grrr! You woke me up again!" Sleepy Ken the Staffie protests in his new kennel. So that's nothing new.

But the premises! Clean, bright, warm, the aroma of coffee. Pure contentment. We relish it. And so do our clients. Now we have as much space for our orders as in the Sahara. The handwork flourishes. We whistle as we work.

In the new workshop, everything runs like clockwork. This means that we manage to manufacture even more collars, leads and other necessities for dog connoisseurs, as well as wallets, coasters, bracelets and keychains for humans. Would you also like some?

For Dogs

Woof, Ken, where did you get such finery? marvelled a pretty Staffordshire Bull Terrier a few days ago. Since then, dressed to the nines, I regularly break girls’ hearts. A hand-stitched collar in fragrant cowhide decorated in shiny metal with a Staffordshire knot simply attracts the ladies.

Collarsleashes and other canine harness made by Slade Czech saddlers are also available in bright colours for canine ladies. Don’t forget a dog tag to complete the outfit.Take your pick.

Ken 

For humans

Where's my collar? I wonder. I see the master has pinched it to wear like a bracelet. Again! So I asked the master saddlers and we devised leather accessories for humans too. Check out the bracelets in colourful cowhide, aromatic keyrings and keychainsleather wallets and coasters. Everything in Staffie style. Make your choice.

Ken