New Vendor Feature: Chris Gomez of Kaiju Cut & Sew
A close-up of the Kaiju Cut & Sew display at ArtUs Co. Photo by Kaiti Neuman.
It all started with a corgi puppy.
Chris Gomez was trying to decide whether or not to name his new puppy Waffles because, well, waffles, or Kaiju—meaning “strange creature or monster” in Japanese—as a tribute to his lifelong love of Godzilla. After talking with his branding designer, he decided on Waffles for the dog, and Kaiju for his budding leatherworking company. Thus, Kaiju Cut & Sew was born.
“I got my start in art when I took a beginners sewing class in 2016,” Gomez says, “and it immediately just ‘clicked’ with me.” He quickly taught himself to sew zippers and began branching out, making dicebags, tote bags, and eventually fanny packs.
“I didn’t get into leatherworking until the end of 2018 when a friend asked if I could make a leather sheath for knives he was making,” Gomez adds. “Once again, I taught myself a new trade and fell in love with the process of making something entirely by hand.”
Gomez fell so hard for leatherworking and creating, that he eventually left the high-tech industry to pursue his craft full-time.
Kaiju Cut & Sew products are easy to pick from a crowd. The leather, which is ethically sourced from tanneries in Washington State and Chicago that wait for cows to die of natural causes, mixed with the detailed, brightly colored designer fabrics Gomez imports from Japan makes for a striking combination. To add even more originality, he uses a signature cadmium red stitching and edge paint to each leather product.
“It’s a play on Tiffany's signature blue boxes,” Gomez explains. “Now when customers see and purchase my leather goods, they can identify it from the signature Kaiju red stitching and edge paint.”
Gomez at work. Photo courtesy of @kaijucutandsew on Instagram.
Since Gomez has limited amounts of each fabric and makes all the products himself, every leather piece is one-of-a-kind with hours of careful consideration and TLC from Gomez behind it. But for a while, he decided to narrow his focus for the benefit of the community he loves so much.
“Once Covid hit, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do,” says Gomez, who had begun to pursue Kaiju Cut & Sew as a full-time endeavor one month before the March 2020 lockdown, “so I pivoted my business to making face masks full time in order for me to donate the proceeds to local charities.”
This paid off big time. “In 2020, I was able to donate $25,000 to 15 different local charities.”
Now that he’s back to regularly producing a variety of products, Gomez has several ideas for new products brewing that he’s hoping to introduce in the coming year. “I would love to be able to hire a few employees as well and eventually open up my own brick and mortar store,” Gomez adds, “but baby steps!”
In the meantime, us here at ArtUs Co could not be more excited to have Kaiju Cut & Sew products on our shelves. Welcome aboard, Chris!
Written by Kaiti Neuman.
Waffles the corgi modeling with one of the Kaiju Cut & Sew wallets. Photo courtesy of @kaijucutandsew on Instagram.
The Kaiju Cut & Sew display at ArtUs Co. Photo by Kaiti Neuman.