Faith Saddlery

On our way home from Denver, CO after teaching a few photojournalism workshops we drove through Clarendon, TX and saw a sign for custom saddles and thought that would make an awesome photo assignment... So after a sharp U-turn or as my friend DJ would say "Flip a bitch!" we ended up in the parking lot of Faith Saddlery Custom Made Saddles. After trudging through the gravel parking lot I reached for the old storefront door. As I walked in to the jingle of the little brass bell that hung above the door is when I met Jeff Anderberg with a "Hi how you doin?" I explained to him that I was a photojournalist and teacher and asked if he would mind if I took some pictures of him working on his saddle. He said "No go ahead but I don't want to break your camera..." as we both chuckled. I quickly got to work taking pictures and engaged him in a small conversation about his history with this art and how long he had been doing it... I told me that he has worked with leather for as long as he could remember and has been in the same location since 1976 making saddles. Jeff's shop was full of tables with scraps of leather and tools with a few saddles he was working on by the window. The funny thing was he has a dog named "Stitch" that was asleep on the old couch by the door and could only be bothered to lift an eyebrow to see what was going on. Other than that he didn't move the whole time we were in there shooting. You can see him in the background in one of the images. Jeff is a very nice guy and an amazing artist.. So if you need a saddle to sit on look him up at 201 S. Jefferson P.O. Box 1308 Clarendon, TX 79226 #806/874-3275
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