Peachy the Magazine September October 2015 | Page 43

ON THE GO

Born in New Mexico and raised in
Texas, Cambria spent childhood summers riding horses on her family’s
ranch. She grew to love the rush of
leather smell upon opening the saddle
house door each morning. As Cambria
shares, “Riding horses equaled freedom.
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to
roam uninhibited on horseback through
open range, mesas and canyons with
no boundaries as far as your eyes can
see, you can comprehend how freedom takes on a whole new meaning.”
Cambria, who is self-taught, made her
first saddle-stitched bag in 1996. Fast
forward to 2015, and not much has
changed. Cambria and her leathersmiths are still using the same saddle
stitching method and basic tools to
make bags and accessories. A love of
music is another passion for Cambria,
who also works as a photographer for
a concert promotion company.  

She sat down with Peachy to share
her background, her influences and
her philosophy for creating handmade, lasting bags that are unique
and versatile—trust us that your
Cambria Handmade bag will quickly
become a favorite.

Where did you grow up, and how has that
influenced your work? 
My family has a ranch just outside
of Ft. Sumner, New Mexico. That’s
where I was born. The ranch is a very
precious place to me. My cousin and
I used to ride all day long out in open
pasture with nothing but sandwiches
and sodas tucked into our saddlebags.
Making leather bags is a way for me to
stay connected to the ranch on a daily
basis. It’s very nostalgic, and I’m a
hopeless romantic.

Who are some role models who have
influenced you?
I’ve always been influenced by my
mother’s