About

I am Tarry Parks – owner, designer and creator behind 3 Parks Design, Artisan Leather Goods. Art, in one form or another, has thrilled me since I was about 6 years old. I remember making bag fulls of little “creations” that my parents were forced to collect, just like any good parent would. My art teachers were almost always my favorite in school since art was one of my favorite subjects. In high school, my art teacher suggested Interior Design as a good career path for someone like me. So I pursued it, first with an Associate in Arts and then a Bachelor of Science. I gained 12+ years of experience in retail sales and management working my way through college. A few hobbies I picked up along the way provided temporary outlets for that stress – ballroom dancing, playing billiards, soap and lotion making, and then leather crafting. However, crafting handmade leather goods quickly overrode all others and eventually helped me to realize something very important – doing what you should and doing what you enjoy can be the same thing! I registered my business in 2014 and later opened up the Etsy shop.

Now, I love making things that others want to use, not just collect!

It was in a junior high art class that I first learned of leather crafting. However, it was not until my husband reintroduced me to the art in 2010 that I found joy transforming leather. He had already taken up the hobbies of jewelry and knife making, taught to him by his father. But, he wasn’t done collecting hobbies yet. After visiting a local leather and supplies retailer with his father, he later suggested that I give leather crafting a whirl too. My husband then took me to that same store where I picked out a few things, and one was a leather purse kit. I was hooked after I completed that purse – so, I stole all of his tools – even took his leather! 3 Parks Design, 3PD, honors that bond between son and father and the shared inspiration between husband and wife. My husband helped me rediscover leather crafting, reconnecting me with the creativity that I thought I had lost in the shuffle.

Leather crafting is not just something I do, it means something to me.

My gratitude towards my husband has not stopped me from stealing his tools. But, I have amassed my own collection and grown my stock of leather too since. Although, he jumps in on a project occasionally, right now it is just me and my hands with the leather, from start to finish. (Leather working is one thing he will admit I am better at than him.) My studio is a small room in the corner of our home that we share with our rescued furbabies – I am slowly taking over the rest of the house!