- I remember when I first walked into the gallery, I was very impressed with the level of the artists that are there.

I said, "Man, if I'm gonna be here, I gotta bring my A-game.

These guys are good."

(soft music) - By Western Hands is a nonprofit organization.

We're located in Cody, Wyoming, and our primary mission is to educate, conserve, and preserve the legacy of Western functional art.

- Western functional art is quite different from all other genres of art and furniture, if you will, in America.

It's singular to the Western mystique and all of the things that came from being in America in the 1800s, early 1900s.

Special things that, in our case at By Western Hands, emanated from Thomas Molesworth and the beautiful classical leather and log furniture that he did.

- We're selling art.

I mean, it's studio furniture.

It's artisan-made furniture.

It's not Ikea, 'cause they do good stuff for what they do, but there's not a lot of design, a lot of art in it.

- We currently have about 54 artisans spread across 17 different states, so it's not just the state of Wyoming.

- [Emmanuelle] Artisans come from all over and they apply.

They have to have two letters of recommendation.

They also have to bring a piece to us for our jury to review and analyze.

And we have a anonymous jury that decides.

But there is always one artisan that belongs to By Western Hands on that jury, and that artisan rotates.

- [Ben] When I'm doing my work, I always like to bring my best thing to it.

But of course, the more detail you put into something, the more expensive a work of art gets, the more expensive it gets, the harder it is to sell.

And, sometimes I cut it off at a certain point.

But then I just realized, boy, these guys are really taking it up to that next level and they're putting the higher price tags on it, and they're really doing that.

I said, "You know what, I need to do that.

I can take it to that next level.

I'm not gonna stop, I'm gonna keep going."

And that kind of inspiration is just really great because I always desire to do more.

- From the beginning of doing this kind of work, I love collaborating with other artists that are really, really good.

I started teaming up, the more business I got.

I picked the best woodworkers that were close to me and the best blacksmith.

And these guys that were willing to work with me, most of us go home and work alone, sometimes for months at a time.

And so, collaborating, it's almost like a spiritual connection with a lot of fellow artists.

And here, the camaraderie, I think, has been essential for all of us.

- We all count on each other at one point or another and we're all ready to help each other.

So, like with Chris Chapman, I mention her because she's the wonderful person who knows how to make leather do anything.

And so, if I have any kind of problem and wanna ask about different kinds of leather or anything else, she's the go-to woman.

And Linda Culver, she is so good at beadwork.

So, we have a nice little hotline of where everybody can help each other.

- [Scott] We meet a couple of times a year.

We keep in touch, all of the members do, and work with each other and answer each other's questions whenever possible, and send work to each other.

And we finished a job, delivered a firewood rack.

And as a good example, she asked about fireplace tools, a really high end-house.

And so, I could send her to, "Well, I know a guy in Jackson, I know Steve.

Here's his number, give him a call."

I know that I've had people contact me from references from other artisans as well.

It's really valuable that way.

More than anything, it's just, it's a psychological value of not being alone.

- [Ben] And there's something about something being handmade.

The energy of that person goes into it.

And that is why I feel it's very important that crafts and these trades and traditional ways of doing things are not forgotten.

The manufactured things are good.

They are less expensive, and that makes a lot of things accessible to people, and that's a good thing.

But on the other hand, you lose something, because if a machine makes something from beginning to end, it has the soul of a machine and not the soul of a human in it.

- [Mary] We see that our artisans are aging out, and we would like to keep that art form and those crafts going.

So, one requirement we do ask of all of our artisans, all of our master artisans, is that they are willing to teach, because our mission is to keep these art forms alive.

And the best person to teach it is the artisans.

- [Supaya] I can't even tell you how exciting I am to have a class.

There's actual people sitting there that have never touched a leather needle.

And I grew up very poor.

Living on different reservations, I've seen a lot of people struggle doing what it takes to make a living.

If I can encourage one person in the class that can take time to make something and make a few more dollars for their kids, that's wonderful.

That's a true gift.

Every day, I live to be right here.

And I want this to last, 'cause I want my grandkids here and my great-grandkids here.