Our Story

We are a small family-owned business in downtown Hamilton; proudly Canadian.  Combined, we have over 50 years of hands-on leather working experience.

Our story began with Peter Grove and his love of leatherwork, starting at age 9 at a summer skills camp.  As his skills grew, he worked on and off doing leatherwork for Tandy Leather for years and in 1982, Tundra Manufacturing Incorporated began as his part-time job.

Later, in 1991, he changed his focus from straight manufacturing and moved more toward retail, when he took over an existing Tandy Leather store and change the name to Tundra Leather. A couple of years later he hired Sean, and they began making one-off custom leatherwork projects (belts, knife sheaths, messenger bags, duffel bags, etc.), while still selling all of the leather, tools, and supplies to local leatherworkers.

In 2015, Peter’s daughter Kristi took over running the business, and in 2016, we celebrated Tundra’s 25th Anniversary on King Street in Hamilton, as part of the International Village BIA.  While we still do custom leatherwork, and sell all of the tools and supplies you could need, we now offer classes for those interested in learning the craft or for those interested in making an evening of learning how to make a one-off small project (belt, clutch purse, journal, etc.).

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions – we’re always here to help!