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Mike Wallis was drawn to Arizona from Central Texas in 1986 for a summer job working on an Arabian horse farm. He fell in love with big sky, crisp smells after a dessert monsoon and the great sunsets of the high dessert broken by the
purple mountains. His occupational pursuits reflect his love of the outdoors.
He has worked in forestry, wildlife conservation, wild land fire suppression,
environmental remediation and guiding others in their personal outings. He has never enjoyed "riding a desk".
When he is "at work", you might find him wading through a remote trout stream,
traversing and ancient petroglyph covered ledge, hiking along a wild game trail or laying under a moonless night counting shooting stars.
His work and play often bring him the opportunity to collect different species of snake which he enjoys making into custom one of kind belts. He has perfected his craft over the last few years to earn him a reputation as a world class artisan. As Mike once said, "No two snakes are alike...so there will never be two belts just alike".
How many people can find something dead lying by the road or trail and see it as a work of art. Right now, Mike is probably lost in the Arizona outback stumbling across the perfect skin, to make that piece of art for you to proudly wear and call your own piece of the American Southwest.
Reach Mike by E-mail at mwallisnaz@aol.com