Montana Folklife Demonstrator
Kellem Custom Works | Sheridan, MT
Callie Kellem is a custom leatherworker currently residing in Sheridan Montana. She is also an EMT, federally certified aircraft mechanic, backcountry wrangler, camp worker in Montana and Alaska, and experienced world traveler. One may think all of these credentials seem unrelated (and she has thought the same), but all have had their influence on her lifelong devotion to leatherwork.
Callie was four years old when she first began tinkering with leather tools. As saddle shop owners in Gardiner, Montana, her parents would issue her a hunk of leather and some stamping tools in lieu of the more typical crayons and paper. At sixteen, with the guidance of her father, Callie made her first saddle. Spirited and curious, Callie was not satisfied following in the traditional saddle making footsteps of her father and western saddle makers before her. Over the years, Callie questioned the practicality of formal leatherwork and, as she packed up for various rugged experiences in the backcountry, faraway places, or intense training sessions, she brought back with her insights that molded her leather working style, which is both rugged and fashionable!
Callie’s own company Kellem Custom Works is the sister company to her family’s store, Kellem’s Montana Saddlery. She mainly offers leather travel bags, purses, wallets, jewelry, and sometimes custom clothing. She includes unique tooling designs on many of her items that are suited for both men and women. In 2019, you can find her products offered in her family’s store in Gardiner. She will also vend at a series of festivals this summer, including the Red Ants Pants Festival, Choke Cherry Festival, and Big Fork Festival of the Arts.