Is It Wood or Leather? An Artisan’s Creative Take

The Double Tree Trunk leather art rug by Scott Gelander showcases his custom craftsmanship, where he creates organic shapes and incorporates knots and holes. | Photo: SG Leather

It all started with a set of place mats Scott Gelander’s mother gave him, plus a bundle of saddle leather he had on his desk. The place mats were slim discs made from crosscuts of a tree trunk, applied to felt. Gelander, who had spent his career up to that point in the automotive leather industry, was struck by the similarity of the wood’s grain to the fiber structure of leather.

Gelander was inspired to cut pieces of his leather into thin strips and roll them into a cookie-size circle. He marveled at how the creation resembled a slice of a tree. An idea was born, but it took a year to turn his concept into a marketable product. Fast-forward a decade, and Gelander’s  wall and tabletop pieces and rugs now decorate homes, hotels and businesses across the country. Some creations are as small as a place mat; others are 10 feet long.

his leather wall-art log features natural tones of saddle leather, dark brown waxy belting leather and green suede. | Photo: SG Leather

“I had to figure out how to make them so that they are dimensionally stable without compromising the optics of the finished side,” he says. His SG Leather rugs are built upside down, with the cut side of the leather on top. Gelander adds adhesive and fiberglass mesh as he goes, and he doesn’t view each product’s finished side until it is completed. He says an 8-foot-long rug can take up to five weeks to make. He works on multiple rugs and wall pieces at a time, adding a foot or two to each creation per day.

The concept and execution are a natural evolution of Gelander’s early art education, as well as a career spent in the leather business. For decades he had worked with tanneries around the world, supplying leather to automotive and furniture manufacturers. As a sideline, he sold some of his first tree art pieces to leather companies.

A table runner made with natural saddle leather, vegetable-tanned leather and suede. | Photo: SG Leather

When the pandemic hit in 2020 and business around the globe was disrupted, Gelander decided to focus on his art. “I built a small collection of 20 pieces and started doing art fairs around the country,” he says. “The reaction was overwhelming. Most people who saw them wanted one.”

“We were absolutely enthralled by his work,” says Pat Tolstyka, who first met Gelander when he and his wife, Linda, attended the Ann Arbor Art Fair. “It’s something you’ve never seen before.” The Michigan residents later visited Gelander at his studio to commission several pieces that are now on display in their home.

The Cherry Tree Rug combines warm brown leather and red suede. | Photo: SG Leather

Gelander’s work also stood out to Elaine Farkas for its originality. She met the artist about seven years ago at the Vail Fine Arts Festival and picked up a business card. Last year, on a family trip in Michigan, she visited Gelander’s studio. The rug she purchased there now holds a place of honor at the entrance of the Edwards, Colorado, home she shares with her husband, Eric. “It is so unusual. It looks like a cross-section of a tree, but it also has an abstract quality. It is special.”

Gelander, who lives on 10 wooded acres in southwest Michigan, says he is inspired by oaks and other trees native to the area. “If I see a fallen tree, I take a picture of the cross-cut. If it’s on my property, I get a chainsaw in one hand, a camera in the other.” He uses the photos as inspiration and also replicates trees based on photos clients bring him.

Gelander’s Giving Tree Trunk art is almost 9 feet tall, plywood-backed and ready to hang.| Photo: SG Leather

He’s also branching out, so to speak. A new project is a life-size bison made from 3-by-3-inch strips of leather. Gelander has also created wall pieces that combine leather and oil paint and makes leather wall tiles. Gelander is happy to continue his career working with leather, now with the added artistic challenge. “It’s a combination of the time in my life where things slow down and I can pursue my passions,” he says. “As an artist, I can’t help but love creating these pieces.”

As seen in Mountain Living’s September/October 2026 issue.

Scott Gelander uses a belting machine to cut saddle leather into thin strips. Rings are created from the inside out, blending color and texture to mimic a tree’s growth. A round-tipped knife is used to bevel edges. | Photo: SG Leather

Photo: SG Leather

Photo: SG Leather

Copper nails hold the shape tight while the leather dries. Amber resin is brushed on to darken the “wood” effect and provide additional waterproofing for high-traffic area rugs. A finished wall art piece. | Photo: SG Leather

Photo: SG Leather

Photo: SG Leather

The leaf motif rug in green leather and suede is 60 inches long and 33 inches wide. | Photo: SG Leather

Among Gelander’s smallest pieces are his crosscut tabletop designs. This one in brown saddle leather and light green suede is 12 inches in diameter. | Photo: Chris Svelare

A work in progress, ceiling tiles for a client’s music room mimic the look of a record album in black saddle leather, white bridle leather and cherry-red chap suede. | Photo: SG Leather