In the bag: Bauer family’s creation keeps calving tools together

It’s not uncommon for a rancher to be a “jack of all trades,” and that’s just how one could
describe Casey Bauer of Fairpoint, SD. Casey is a fifth generation rancher in Meade County where he
and his wife, Haley, their two children, and his parents run a cow-calf operation on the same ground
that their ancestors began homesteading back in 1909. Casey’s grandmother was a leather worker, as
was his dad, Brad, so one could say that Casey was born into the trade.

Casey began tinkering on things in the shop at a young age, watching his dad make chaps,
reins, and other “cowboy stuff.” According to Casey, watching and learning from his dad made it “an
easy transition for [him] to build things while [his dad] was working there.” By high school, Casey was
busy selling his creations and ready to see his business grow. In high school, Casey was active in FFA,
competing on the sales team. He credits this experience for helping him grow as a business owner,
especially regarding the marketing aspect. To any young entrepreneurs, Casey offers this advice: “Pick
one thing and become very good at it” before moving on to another. He also stresses the importance of
picking one’s market, which came naturally to him with his ranching background and ability to create
products that appeal to others in the industry.

In 2018, Casey met his wife, Haley. Together, they started Glass Butte Custom Leather.
Within the last couple of years, Haley has built a website to showcase and sell their work, helping them
send products across the United States. The two make a perfect pair– with Casey focusing on function
and Haley adding the flair. Casey said Haley has “great artistic ability.” She freehands her own patterns
and handles the floral tooling, beadwork, buckstitching, and anything that requires a feminine touch.
What started as a family affair with Casey’s grandmother and father continues on, as his three-year-old
daughter, Jackie, is “already trying to build all sorts of stuff” in their leather shop.
One of Casey’s latest creations is a calving bag. This came about because he “had a need” and
invented a fix. Casey said, “That’s kind of how a guy comes up with things.”

The outside of these leather bags measure 12 inches across with a 5 inch gusset around the middle and a heavy brass zipper, making them sturdier and more durable than a cloth or canvas bag. Inside, there is a center divider pocket with a place to hold a pen, a pliers, or anything else one may need to bring along. At calving time, they free up one’s pockets by holding vaccine guns, tags, taggers, and pens. They are just the right size to carry along, and the straps make them easy to hang from a saddle horn or the handlebars of a four-wheeler.
He built his first one last January, using it all spring for calving season and again this year.
Casey calls them a “handy little bag” that “any rancher could use,” noting that they prevent one from
needing to go back and forth from the saddle bag or side-by-side to the livestock. Casey adds that they
are a “multi-use thing.” He has used his for calving and as a snare bag for trapping. Some customers
have used them for doctoring bags, while others keep them in their pickups with their basic necessities
inside. One happy customer said, “These are a must! I love mine.”
Aside from the calving bags, Casey and Haley can make just about “anything anybody could
use” – from shotgun scabbards to tack, wallets to spur straps, travel bags to accessories, and more.
Whatever one may need for themselves, a gift for someone, or prizes for a rodeo, they can take care of.
They source their leather from Montana Leather, so everything is American-made, and they have a
knack for threading the needle between quality and affordability. Their work can be found on their
Facebook page, Glass Butte Custom Leather, or on their website: http://www.glassbuttecustomleather.com.