COLUMBUS — It’s a small business that’s Montana-inspired and making a big splash across the state.
Cowlick Creations in Columbus offers handmade leather and mohair products made with love.
It was Meghan Richardson’s eldest daughter who inspired her love for leather design seven years ago.
“My oldest daughter got into youth rodeo and so she really wanted the blingy, fancy colorful tack sets and she had a saddle that we put glitter on,” said Richardson at her in-home studio in Columbus.
Cowlick Creations didn’t come to fruition until the pandemic hit when Richardson lost the two jobs she was working at the time.
“Then somebody said to me, 'Why don’t you turn this into your business? What’s the worst that’s going to happen?' and I was like, 'oh, that’s a scary question, what is the worst that’s going to happen',” Richardson said.
With her family’s blessing, Richardson hit the ground running with Cowlick Creation in 2021.
“I used my COVID time off to take classes with some of the best leather workers around, I really learned a lot,” said Richardson.
She only uses locally sourced leather and American mohair to make products like full tack sets, bags, wallets — anything that comes to Richardson’s mind.
“I didn’t want to be hemmed into any one thing in particular. I tried making soap once, I mean who knows, it just gives me this broad spectrum of anything I think of that I want to try, I can just go for it,” Richardson said.
Richardson has taken advantage of living in the Big Sky state, using Montana as inspiration for her creations.
“We live in Montana, and it’s gorgeous. So, I kind of create things that feature my favorite things, which are the mountains, the wildlife, horses. I love horses,” said Richardson.
It takes about five hours to create an elk-tooled roper wallet and priced at $95, Richardson wanted her products to be affordable.
“I came from a modest family, but I like fancy things. So, I want people to be able to have those gorgeous tack sets that their kids want to do rodeo in. I want people to be able to afford beautiful, handmade things,” Richardson said.
It’s a labor of love that Richardson wouldn’t have any other way.
“Every piece I do, my tooling gets a little bit better. Or my painting, I get the color just a little closer to that perfect elk color. I really enjoy all of it. And when they’re done, I’m really happy,” said Richardson.
