“Western wear, cowboy boots, things that are tooled and customized to the brim. They’re a personal kind of release for the soul. They’re more visual, creative, artistic.”
— Milen Krastev
The landscape of the American West, draped throughout the world in Wild West shows, teevee terrain and the panorama of the silver screen, has stirred the European imagination for 150 years. It certainly did so for Milen Krastev, the mad tailor of Varna, Bulgaria on the Black Sea.
“We grew up liking American Western movies and wanting to go to the States,” he explains. “My roots are Bulgarian and there is a certain power to the colors and patterns in our textiles, but I like the western influence, the Native American art, the handmade stuff. All of that together as a texture and graphic language really speaks to me.”
Today, Milen hangs his hats in Whitefish, Montana, where he hand creates cool boots, custom clothes, belts, bags, home goods, wallets, motorcycle seats, nut cups and holy moly, who knows what all. Crazy like a fox, he calls the coast-to-coast, home-based business Mad Leather. “If you can dream it…I can make it.”
This House of Mad is a family affair. Milen works alongside his American
