250th Anniversary Patriotic Eagle Hand Tooled Leather Valet Tray

Created for competition. Made as a piece of American leather art. And absolutely one of a kind.

My one-of-a-kind hand tooled leather valet tray was designed and created for the 2026 Heart of Texas Leather Show's Last Minute Leather Shootout, celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States.

The competition challenge was to create a functional, travel-friendly patriotic valet tray that could flatten for packing while securely holding its shape when assembled. Entrants had 30 days to create their piece and deliver it to the show.

Naturally, I couldn't just make a simple tray.

My piece began with an original patriotic design featuring a soaring American bald eagle against a hand-painted American flag, surrounded by deeply carved Western floral tooling, Texas stars, six-shooters and bold red, hand dyed, USA lettering. The banner above the eagle commemorates 1776–2026, marking America's 250th anniversary.

The raised center panel is individually hand carved, tooled, painted and hand stitched into the surrounding leather. I constructed the tray from two layers of vegetable-tanned leather, allowing the inside to carry extensive carved artwork while giving the exterior a beautifully smooth, finished surface.

And then there my inventive corners.

Rather than using the traditional snaps or clasps you'd expect on a folding valet tray, I wanted the construction itself to become part of the artwork. Pigskin suede lacing securely draws each corner together, finished with sliding silver-tone beads that add a subtle Native-inspired influence and unmistakable Cherokee Rose character.

The story behind the piece

The competition project was announced a month before entries were due.

I, of course, decided to enter one week before the show.

Two days into creating my entry, I realized I'd made a mistake in the background stamping that I simply couldn't live with. Yeah, it WAS that bad!!  So—with only four days remaining—I scrapped it and started completely over.

This is the piece that emerged from round two. And I personally think it turned out even better than I could have imagined!

At the Heart of Texas Leather Show, it received scores of 9/10 and 10/10 across every judged category on my two scorecards, recognizing the craftsmanship, design and execution that went into the finished work.

This is not a design I plan to reproduce. The tray offered here is the original competition piece shown in the photographs.

Details

• One-of-a-kind original Cherokee Rose Custom Leather design
• Created for the 2026 Heart of Texas Leather Show Last Minute Leather Shootout
• Approximately 9.5" × 9.5"
• Two-layer vegetable-tanned leather construction
• Hand carved and hand tooled throughout
• Hand-painted American flag, bald eagle and patriotic details
• Western floral tooling and Texas star accents
• Hand-stitched raised center panel
• Pigskin suede corner lacing
• Includes signed and dated Certificate of Authenticity
• Decorative silver-tone sliding beads
• Smooth finished leather exterior with Cherokee Rose maker's mark
• Designed to flatten for travel and hold its shape when assembled
• Brand new competition/display piece
• Ready to ship
• Made by hand in East Texas

Although fully functional as a valet tray, this piece was created and priced as original leather art. Its intricate hand carving, commemorative 1776–2026 design and competition provenance make it equally suited for display in a home, office or Western art collection.

Certificate of Authenticity

This original leather artwork will include a signed and dated Certificate of Authenticity from Cherokee Rose Custom Leather, documenting the title of the piece, year of creation, artist, and its history as an original entry created for the 2026 Heart of Texas Leather Show Last Minute Leather Shootout.

The certificate will identify this piece as an original, one-of-one work of leather art that will not be reproduced, providing permanent documentation of its origin and provenance for its future owner.