At Authentic Leather Patch Company, there's a lot more to making custom leather patch hats than most people realize. Behind every finished hat is a team of talented people who take pride in their work. Today, we're introducing you to one of the people who has been part of our journey from the very beginning: Jose.
Before There Was Authentic Leather Patch Company, There Was Jose
Jose holds a pretty special distinction around here. He's our longest-tenured employee, and his working relationship with our co-founder, Ian, actually goes back further than the company itself.
Before Authentic Leather Patch Company was even an idea, Jose and Ian were working together on video production projects.
Over the years, that working relationship evolved into something entirely different. Instead of cameras and video equipment, Jose now spends most of his days working with lasers, leather, and custom artwork.
Although some things haven't changed. Every now and then, Jose and Ian still team up to film the occasional concert.
Nearly a Million Leather Patches and Counting
Today, Jose is an essential part of our laser etching team.
When a customer sends us artwork for their custom leather patch hats, there's more involved than simply loading the file into a laser and pressing start.
Artwork needs to be reviewed, adjusted, and properly prepared to produce the best possible results on authentic leather. Fine details, lettering, contrast, and overall design all play a role in how the finished patch will look.
That's where Jose comes in.
He's responsible for helping ensure that customer artwork translates beautifully from a digital design into a finished laser-etched leather patch.
And he's had plenty of practice.
Over the years, Jose has personally laser-etched upwards of one million leather patches.
That's an incredible amount of experience, and it's the kind of hands-on knowledge that makes a difference when producing custom hats for businesses, organizations, and brands across the country.
Taking on Premium Authentic Press
As Authentic Leather Patch Company has grown, so have Jose's responsibilities.
Most recently, he's taken on the production of our Premium Authentic Press leather patches.
Unlike our traditional laser-etched patches, Premium Authentic Press uses custom metal dies, heat, and pressure to create detailed impressions in authentic leather. Depending on the design, these patches can feature embossed artwork or eye-catching metallic foil.
It's a different process that requires its own level of precision, consistency, and attention to detail.
Jose is now helping bring these premium designs to life, adding another specialized skill to his already impressive experience.
Whether he's working with a laser or producing Premium Authentic Press patches, the goal remains the same: make sure every patch looks its best before it makes its way onto a hat.
Tennis, Pickleball, Spartan Races, and a Whole Lot of Stickers
Of course, there's more to Jose than leather patches.
Outside the shop, he's an avid tennis player who has recently added pickleball to his list of interests.
He's also been known to participate in the occasional Spartan Race, which involves running, climbing, crawling, and generally putting yourself through a lot of physical punishment for fun.
We'll stick to making hats.
Family is also a huge part of Jose's life, and he's very involved with the people closest to him.
And then there are the stickers.
If you've ever visited our production facility in Buellton, California, you may have noticed a door covered in an impressive collection of stickers.
That's Jose's masterpiece.
We're not entirely sure how many stickers are on that door at this point, but it's become part of the shop's personality.
The People Behind the Product
When you're running a manufacturing business, having people you can depend on makes all the difference.
Jose has been one of those people for us since day one.
He's dependable, hardworking, detail-oriented, and genuinely a great person to work alongside. He's watched Authentic Leather Patch Company grow, helped us introduce new production techniques, and played a direct role in producing an incredible number of hats over the years.
We're proud of the equipment and technology we've invested in, but at the end of the day, it's the people operating that equipment who make the difference.
Jose is a perfect example of that.
So the next time you receive an order of custom leather patch hats from Authentic Leather Patch Company, there's a pretty good chance Jose had something to do with making them.
Thanks for everything you do, Jose. We're lucky to have you on the team.
