George Hurst (1933 - September 13, 2022) was an American leather artist known for his contributions to

leathercraft Leather crafting or simply leathercraft is the practice of making leather into craft objects or works of art, using shaping techniques, coloring techniques or both. Techniques Dyeing The application of pigments carried by solvents or water in ...

instruction. With nearly 8 million views on his leatherworking tutorial videos on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, Hurst is recognized internationally as a teacher. His contributions to the leather industry over the last 50 years have been recognized with an

Al Stohlman Award for Achievement in Leathercraft The Al Stohlman Award for Achievement in Leathercraft honors the accomplishments of individual leather workers worldwide for their continued dedication and exemplary service to leathercraft. The criteria for nominations are someone who has demons ...

, the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Federation of Leather Guilds, and the Master Leather Artisan Award by the Academy of Western Artists.

Early life

George Hurst was born in New Berlin,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in 1933. He was first introduced to

leatherworking Leather crafting or simply leathercraft is the practice of making leather into craft objects or works of art, using shaping techniques, coloring techniques or both. Techniques Dyeing The application of pigments carried by solvents or water in ...

in shop class in highschool and began selling his work to family and friends. When Hurst joined the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in 1952, he continued to pursue leathercraft as a profitable

hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing Sport, sports, or pursu ...

. After he left the Army in 1955, he ran a

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

while operating his independent leather business as a part-time avocation before deciding to make a career of it.

Leatherworking career

In June 1961, Hurst took his first job with

Tandy Leather Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. is an American specialty retailer and wholesale distributor of leather and leatherwork related products. It operates more than 100 stores worldwide. Originally part of the Tandy Corporation, Tandy Leather has gone thro ...

as an Assistant Manager in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. 20 months later, he was promoted to manager of a store in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

before moving back to manage the Pennsylvania store in 1966. Hurst built his store's business through innovative teaching techniques and was regularly one of the top selling managers in the company. After 9 years in Philadelphia, Hurst was promoted to Regional Manager in 1975 and then appointed Merchandising Manager in 1976. As the Merchandising Manager, Hurst regularly reported to

Charles Tandy Charles David Tandy (15 May 1918 – 4 November 1978) was the chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer of the Tandy Corporation. Early life Charles Tandy was born in Brownsville, Texas to Dave L. Tandy, who ran the Hinckley-T ...

and served as the company's liaison with author

Al Stohlman Al Stohlman (August 15, 1919 – March 6, 1998) was an American pioneer in leathercraft and continues to influence hundreds of thousands of leathercrafters worldwide. He and his wife Ann (June 30, 1924 – June 10, 2004) produced hundreds of magaz ...

. After leaving the company in 1978 to help establish

The Leather Factory Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. is an American specialty retailer and wholesale distributor of leather and leatherwork related products. It operates more than 100 stores worldwide. Originally part of the Tandy Corporation, Tandy Leather has gone thro ...

, Hurst was rehired by Tandy Leather as Merchandising Manager in 1985. While in this position, Hurst modernized leathercraft

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely re ...

leatherworking by means of

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

. Hurst pursued entrepreneurial efforts in the early 90s and started Hide Crafters Leather, where he hired leather veteran Jim Linnell to help build the new business. He later sold the inventory of the company to Double K Leather and returned to Tandy Leather to lead their digital media efforts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurst, George 1933 births 2022 deaths Leatherworkers People from Union County, Pennsylvania