Deane Russell

Deane Russell was one of the founding members of the Society, and the man the new organization chose to lead it. He came to the craft early — at the YMCA Golden Lake Summer Camp in 1938 — and spent the 1940s at the centre of leathercraft's public life in Canada: five years as Secretary of the Dominion Government's Interdepartmental Committee on Canadian Hand Arts and Crafts, and from 1946 a monthly feature column, "Leathercraft Lobby", in "RA NEWS", the newspaper of the Civil Service Recreation Association.

• A founding member of the Society; its first President, appointed 1950
• First Editor of the newly formed "Canadian Leathercraft", 1951
• Began leathercraft at the YMCA Golden Lake Summer Camp, 1938
• Five years Secretary of the Interdepartmental Committee on Canadian Hand Arts and Crafts for the Dominion Government
• Wrote the monthly column "Leathercraft Lobby" for "RA NEWS", the newspaper of the Civil Service Recreation Association, from 1946
• Organized Canada's two largest leathercraft exhibitions; the 1948 display drew entries from coast to coast and from 14 foreign countries
• Left the Dominion Civil Service after twelve years to manage the Ottawa Valley Leathercraft Studios full-time
• Commissions included a photograph frame presented to the President of the United States and a book cover presented to the Emperor of Ethiopia

He organized the two largest leathercraft exhibitions Canada had seen. The 1948 display included entries from coast to coast and from fourteen foreign countries. After twelve years he resigned from the Dominion Civil Service to manage the Ottawa Valley Leathercraft Studios full-time, and in 1950 he was appointed President of the newly formed Canadian Society of Creative Leathercraft — the Society's original name, with "of" where "for" now stands. The following year he was appointed Editor of the newly formed "Canadian Leathercraft"; the first newsletter, of September 1951, is preserved in this archive. He was President for four years, and from September 1951 also Editor, holding both offices through the Spring 1954 issue, which carries his own farewell letter announcing he was stepping down to give his time to business interests; from the following issue he continued only as a member of the Executive Council.

His early commissions travelled further than most Canadian leatherwork of the day: a photograph frame presented to the President of the United States, a book cover presented to the Emperor of Ethiopia, and photograph folders presented to visiting Chiefs of Staff of European armies. Forty years on, the Society's newsletter was still publishing him — his article "Natural Russet Leathers" appeared in the Winter 1992 issue, beside the biographical note from which this page is drawn.

Compiled from the biographical note printed beside his article in Canadian Leathercraft, Winter 1992.