Rusty Dorr, in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York, has been handcrafting Native American and American western-inspired outerwear and accessories full-time for over 50 years. Crafted from American Deerskin, Spanish Lamb, and a limited number of wild furs, all leathers are cut, punched, and laced by hand. Her use of hairpipe and beadwork, along with her attention to detail and quality of craftsmanship have earned her an enviable reputation for five decades. Her use of unisex patterns allows her to fit people of all sizes and shapes. Rusty's work has appeared in Vogue, Town & Country, Playboy, GQ, Yippy Yi Yea Western Lifestyles, True West Magazine, Cowgirl Magazine, The Country & Abroad, and Catskill Mountain Region Guide.

 

In the last years, she has moved away from the wholesale market and successfully features her work in retail craft shows all over the Northeast. In 1994, after selling on Madison Avenue for over 20 years, she dropped her company name, Mahopa Wild Thing, Inc., and now uses her own, obviously memorable, name Rusty Dorr. While in the past couple of years she added the Classic Field Jacket, more recently she has returned to creating the elaborate Night Rider, American Spirit Embossed Shearling, Fantasia, Ghost Rider, Ghost Rides Again, and Turtle Duster. She is using more Spanish Lamb (Toscana), Rex, and Shearling. In 2000, she built a second studio where, by appointment only, people can come to shop and try on some of her wonderful pieces. She feels the Catskills are the perfect place to practice her craft, surrounded by the very balance of nature and the beauty of the land that inspires her.