Handmade Genuine Leather Phone Holsters For Your Cell Phone... the evolution
Embrazio's First Leather Phone Holster
While we provide many leather belts, leather bags, and and even leather bracelets, the leather phone holster was central to our founding as a company.
Here's the story... Stephanie, my co-founder, is an avid, and I mean avid, equestrian. After a long tenure in the technology and telecommunications industries, she was looking for a second act away from the corporate world she'd been a part of for so long. She decided to match her love of all things horses with her knowledge of the internet and created a series of phone apps for riders by digitizing and reformatting the well known training book "101 Dressage Exercises" by Jec Ballou. Essentially the app puts each exercise at your fingertips while on horseback and eliminates the need to haul, and likely damage, a rather thick paperback book to the barn.
A Leather Phone Holster For Riding
Of course, the barn and on horseback are not the most friendly places for an expensive smartphone either. So, the problem Stephanie set out to solve was how to carry your phone with you on horseback in a safe, secure, and visually appealing way. It struck her that cowboys of the old west also carried an important tool on while on horseback...their sidearm. Stephanie then began to model various belt shapes and leather phone holster designs to solve the problem. The toughest part was coming up with a closure that would be secure but also allow for single handed retrieval and replacement of the phone without having to look down. After much trial and error we prototyped and introduced to the market The Classico Leather Belt and Leather Phone Holster pictured below and it was an immediate hit with riders of all types.
What About Non-Riders
The Classico handmade leather phone holster was great for riders but what about people like me that aren't regular riders and don't need a thigh strap to secure the case to your thigh? Well, we took the same design but eliminated the belt clip and the thigh strap and introduced the Piatto Leather Phone Holster. I immediately fell in love with the leather used to make these holsters as they harken back to high quality leathers used in baseball mitts and lineman's gloves. After wearing the Piatto leather phone holster everywhere I went for over 6 months, I could confidently claim that they look and feel better with age and wear.
Leather Phone Cases In Color
The next step in our handmade leather phone holster evolution was to add some color. We headed back down to Leon, Mexico in search of colored leathers with the same smell, feel, and quality of the leathers we'd originally fell in love with. We found two; a rich red and a dark turquoise. We did a run of each which are still for sale on our website. Not as popular as the more traditional black or brown, these cases never fail to draw attention and compliments when I'm out and about.
Phones Get Bigger So Leather Phone Holsters Get Bigger As Well!
You can probably guess what happened immediately after taking shipment of our red and turquoise leather phone holsters. Yep, Apple introduced the iPhone 6+ and it required a larger size holster than what we had just put into the market. Shame on us for not thinking to check on what form factor of phone might be next. Back to the drawing board.
In Italian Loafer For Your Phone
Back to the drawing board we did go and with some help from our wonderful designer in Leon, Dee. We asked her to help us come up with a much more slim lined case to offset the huge size of the newest smartphones. We came up with a totally unique design that includes two channels of elastic down the front for interest and flexibility in width. The holster, which we call the Sottile, also uses Italian tanned black or distressed cognac leathers that are just amazing. The thin profile but large capacity carries my iPhone7+ or my old iPhone 5 with a snug and secure feel and a very fashionable look. Because it's made of very high quality supple leather, the holster forms around by phone after just a week or two of wear. I love it and so do the many customers who've sent us feedback after purchasing. What's really exciting is that we're able to provide the phone holster to the market at just $79. I have yet to see an all genuine leather handmade phone holster that comes close to that price. Getting here with the Sottile has truly been a journey, an evolution if you will, and it has been a labor of love every step of the way!
What's Next?
We're just starting design work on a leather phone wallet/wristlet/crossbody. Not quite sure what we'll end up with but you can be sure it will fit the biggest smartphones and will be prototyped many time to ensure the functionality reaches the same level as its fashionability. Can't wait to show you.....
Match Our Leather Phone Holster with a Brand New Mexican Belt
Regardless of which handmade leather phone case you choose, they work (and look!) best with one of our signature curved belts. The patented curved leather belt was our first product and continues to be a best seller for Embrazio. We suggest you take a look at our entire collection of Mexican belts and handmade leather belts when selecting your phone case. All of our belts, bags and accessories are handmade in Leon, Mexico by experienced artisans. The result is a best in class product at a price you won't believe. For more information or to shop, check out our belt and accessories link in the top menu.