About Our High Quality Leather Goods
We take great pride in our leather goods, making sure every leather belt we make is the highest quality. We use only premium full-grain natural veg-tanned leather from Milwaukee, Wisconsin for all our belts.
How Obscure Belts Started
I was in college studying for my MFA in Sculpture when one day I decided I needed a belt. I knew exactly what I didn't want - a normal, boring leather belt just like every other one I had ever worn. I was looking for something different and exciting, but I didn't have much money to spend. I decided to put my sculpture skills to use and make my own. I used some aluminum I had leftover from a sculpture project to make the original Excalibur belt. It had a smooth shape and a locking pin design, totally different from other belts.
I wore my handmade belt to a few parties to show it off. Friends and family started to ask me to make them cool belts too, and after about a year of making them as a fun side project, I decided to start a company. I officially began my adventure with Obscure Belts in 2005. Since then, we have created 37 unique mechanical belt buckle designs and counting, three successful Kickstarter projects, traveled all over America showing off our awesome belts in 35 cities across 21 states and helped countless people keep their pants up.
Our Successful Kickstarter Projects
We are pretty proud of our three Kickstarter Projects. Collectively, our Kickstarter projects raised over $47,000 through crowdfunding.
We built on these successful projects to launch two follow-up buckle designs independently: the Series 7 Dial and the Fractal 2.0.
Meet Your Belt Makers
Obscure Belts is a small team of two people - Bryan, the founder, and his partner, Cristina. We take great pride in our leather goods to make sure each and every leather belt we make is of high quality.
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Bryan
Master Leathersmith and Sculptor with over 20 years of experience in Milwaukee, WI.
Degrees: Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Master of Fine Arts
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Cristina
Business Manager and Web Designer with over 15 years of experience in small business operations.
What is an Obscure Belt?
An Obscure Belt is a completely new type of belt buckle. Our awesome belt buckles use a metal sizing stud that screws into the leather belt holes. To adjust your size, just unscrew the stud by hand and move it to a different belt hole.
Patented belt buckles
When we say we made a completely new type of belt buckle, we mean it! We were awarded two US patents for our unique designs. Each buckle is a little wearable lock that uses a hook, steel, and a magnet to open and close. This results in less wear and tear on the leather.
Head over to our collections page to shop for new accessories to add to your cart.
Rigorous product testing
We put all of our products through rigorous testing to make sure everything works perfectly. For our newest belt buckle, the Fractal 2.0, we created a machine to stress test the design and ensure it could stand up to the rigors of long-term daily wear. We set it up to perform more than 73,000 open/close cycles, simulating roughly ten years of use. For more information head over to the Fractal's product page.
A better buckle design
Our unique belt buckles have two main advantages over traditional belts:
Designed to Last Longer
The belt does not bend in half every time you put it on. This prevents the leather from deforming, cracking, and stretching out where the holes are. Your belt will look better and last longer than a normal belt.
Engineered Style
The flap on the end of the belt tucks behind the buckle and inside your belt loops. It lays flat while you wear it and doesn’t flop around looking sloppy and getting in the way.
Great buckles need the best leather belts
We are very lucky to live near Seidel Tanning, a specialty leather tannery with over 75 years of experience making custom bridle leather, harness leather, and other high-quality leather items. We have worked with Seidel and their R&D department since we started making belts in 2005. They are true leather experts that help us perfect the recipe for our vegetable tanned leather. And it really is a recipe, with step-by-step instructions to guide the hides through the tanning process to get the right balance of thickness, texture, and color for our belts. Most other brands can't compete with the quality leather we use.
Engineered for Durability and Longevity
At Obscure Belts, every belt begins with full-grain leather sourced exclusively from Seidel Tannery - a standard we’ve upheld for over two decades. Our products aren’t just crafted; they’re engineered for longevity, blending traditional techniques with modern design ideas.
Our leather goods consistently earn the trust of discerning customers who value reliability, creativity, and are searching for something different. Each design is a study in timeless function. Our belts and belt buckles are built to age beautifully, wear well, and endure for years to come.
Award winning leather goods
We are honored to have exhibited our leather goods at some of the top fine art and craft festivals in the United States, including the Smithsonian Craft Show, Philadelphia Museum of Craft Contemporary Art Show, Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival, and Cherry Creek Arts Festival.
Awards & Honors
- Award of Merit - Utah Arts Festival in Salt Lake City, UT
- Juror's Choice Award - Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City, MO
- Best in Category - Brookside Art Annual in Kansas City, MO
- Invitational Award - Madison Art Fair on the Square in Madison, WI
- Invitational Award - Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in State College, PA
- Featured at the Museum of Contemporary Art Design Store in Chicago, IL
- Featured at the Modern Art Museum Design Store in Fort Worth, TX