Brady Pfeiffer: North of Zion
Reported By: Ellaynah Brown
Photographed By: Kelly North
Brady Pfeiffer is among the many entrepreneurs on the George Fox University (GFU) campus that turned his hobby into a business. His leather goods business, North of Zion, began during COVID-19 shut downs, which left him with ample time to explore the world of leather-working.
“I never really thought of turning it into a business,” Pfeiffer said, but after he showed his friends and family the leather wallet he had made for himself, people started requesting handmade wallets of their own.
Pfeiffer’s inspiration came from videos he had seen on YouTube of someone leatherworking. These videos quickly taught him all he needed to know to start making leather goods of his own.
“One of the things I worried about at first was that I didn’t know if my work was on par with other leather companies I had seen,” said Pfeiffer. It was through the process of learning and creating that he discovered “the slight variances and nuances are part of what’s cool about them.”
His business started out as Zion Leather–Zion coming from the setting of “The Matrix”--but after he realized he might want to expand his business into other areas, he decided to change the name to North of Zion. Remaining true to the inspiration taken from “The Matrix,” Pfeiffer has named all of his products after things, people, and places in the movie.
He hopes to get into woodworking and has recently been interested in taking up metal smithing, inspired by a ring-making class he took. Through building his business, Pfeiffer has learned to be more creative and have fun while exploring new trades.
It is evident in his desire to learn new skills and create new things that Pfieffer enjoys the challenge of learning something new. Of the many products he has made, his favorite was a hot pink tote bag: “It was hard to make, which is one of the reasons why I really liked it.”
Pfeiffer is not intimidated by the idea of learning a completely new skill; he is just excited to begin making cool things that he and others can enjoy. His advice to those who are inspired to create is to “just go for it.” Learning from others is the best way to start.
“When you just go for it, don’t be worried about not being good at first, know that it takes time to learn,” Pfeiffer said.
Although production is currently on pause during the school year, Pfeiffer creates his handmade leather goods over breaks, filling orders as they come. You can learn more about his business at his Instagram page @northofzion, or by visiting his website at northofzion.com.