About

OréMoose Leatherwork started when Roger Johnson passed away on his ranch in Northern California and left his leather crafting tools to his 13-year-old grandson, David Kruse, who wouldn’t fully appreciate the gift until much later. After several years in the music industry, David would experience a profound conversion and end up joining Catholic Seminary in the Diocese of Winona-Rochester and begin leatherwork as one of his many hobbies. In 2018, David was on his one year parish internship and was being asked to make leather bible covers almost weekly. A year and a half later, David felt God calling him out of seminary, but more specifically, to evangelize through art. OréMoose Leatherwork was founded in September of 2020 and has been growing steadily ever since. Our team is expanding, the business is spreading, the ministry is advancing into many fields of art and evangelization, and we are honored to have you along for the ride.

CREATIVITY, DURABILITY, BEAUTY

The OréMoose creative process is rich in both prayer and care. Each product is designed to be both practical and aesthetically pleasing; stylish, and robust. We are constantly coming up with new styles designed to last your lifetime, and while comfort is good… beauty is essential.

COMMUNITY

OréMoose believes strongly in the value of community. We know that there are plenty of impersonal “one-click” transactions in the world and look forward to interacting with our customers whenever we can. We also know that your time is valuable. So, we have made our purchase process as convenient as possible. To help us create that sense of community, we encourage you to send us a photo, with you and your signature OréMoose product, so we can feature you in the collage on our homepage!

Meet Our Team

David Kruse

CEO & Owner

David was born a leader. And while we're not sure if that's due to, or in spite of, the fact that he's a youngest child - we are immensely grateful for his incredible vision, drive, and his heart for others. It's in these strengths (& many others) that he inspires the team and drives the mission of OréMoose on a daily basis. David founded OréMoose Leatherwork to share the message of Christ through art, beauty and craftsmanship after eight years in Catholic seminary. He is a professional musician by trade, a painter, writer, husband and a father.

Emma Kruse

Marketing, Owner

Emma joined the team by marriage, yet brings her own spice of life to the OréMoose team. Emma grew up in Australia, and only recently moved to the USA with David, her husband, and their children. She oversees different aspects of marketing, donations, special requests, and social media. She is a musician by trade, and tours regularly under her stage name, Emma Fradd. She is creative in everything she does and loves being a mother and a Catholic.

Joseph Kruse

Production Manager, Western Region

Joseph is the production Manager and head of the Western Region here at OréMoose. He moved back to the USA after spending eight years with a religious community in Italy. Joseph has a degree in percussion performance, but his skills extend far beyond the rim-shot. He has a high attention to detail, and a desire to do all things well. He is an avid and talented farmer and cook, can play guitar, and has a beautiful deep singing voice. He has studied theology and philosophy extensively and continuously desires to deepen his knowledge and faith. He is recently married, and has recently become a father as well.

Chris French

Leatherworker, Eastern Region

Chris joined the team in early 2025 and learned everything there is to know about leather in about a week. He is talented, hard working and brings the spirit of the south to our northern based company. Raised in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Chris spent several years in the seminary, and after having discerned a departure from there, he moved to Ohio to be near his family. Chris brings youthfulness (in the good sense), energy or Dunkin’ to the shop everyday, ready to take on the leather world with vigor and a good sense of humor.