The idea for Link Design, Eric Samuelson’s eco-friendly, handcrafted mittens business was born as part of a marketing class he took at Colorado Mountain College in 2017.

Over time he has found a following in a world looking for sustainable goods.

“As part of our class we needed to work with a local business, but all the local businesses we could select from were all chosen by the time my team came around (to make a selection),” Samuelson said. “So, we just made something up, and I had this idea to make mittens out of recycled leather jackets and stuff.”

That’s when Samuelson came up with the idea for Link Design. He began working with a team of classmates to market a company that would use repurposed materials, mainly leather, to design and create mittens that were perfect for a day on the slopes. When the class was over, he had more than a few offers to buy his samples.

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“I knew I wanted it to be something upcycled, so that was the jumping-off point,” Samuelson said. “I came up with the marketing slogan first, which was the ‘link’ between old and new, and taking old stuff and making something new, and that led to the name Link Designs.”

In the past eight years, Samuelson has worked as a marketing intern as a member of the terrain park crew at Steamboat Resort and most recently for Moots Cycles. 

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He has also held onto the concept he came up with in his marketing class and continued to grow it as a side hustle when he has had the time. Heading into last ski season, Samuelson incorporated Link Designs before leaving Moots Cycles after four years to pursue his dreams of owning his own full-time business.

“I started this full-time November 8, and since then, I’ve done over 300 (pairs of mittens),” said Samuelson. “I invested quite a bit last fall and this winter for a couple of different presses.”

He said purchasing the presses and a number of leather cutting dies has allowed him to double his production in a small workshop located in the basement of his home in West End Village. The cutting die is a pre-formed blade, like a cookie-cutter, that he can use to cut out shapes or patterns from leather.

The cutting dies and the press also allow Samuelson to make precise cuts that can be replicated to create mittens in different sizes.

His materials come from several sources of upcycled or recycled materials from upholstery leather scraps, remnants and other recycled waterproof materials that can be customized for each customer.

On Thursday, Samuelson was in his shop using his press to cut leather shapes that will be used to create mittens for elite snowboarder Maddy Schaffrick.

He offers a limited number of items on his website, LinkDesigns.us. He added that 70-75% of his business comes through custom orders, making it possible to customize each pair for a customer. Link Designs also offers apparel including hats, beanies, hoodies and t-shirts, along with lapel pins and guitar straps.

Samuelson said he is hoping to expand his offerings this year with a line of mittens. He is also hoping to target young athletes who travel in the summer to places like Mount Hood in Oregon for year-round training.

Samuelson asked for a sewing machine for Christmas a few years back and, because he has always worked with his hands, was able to pick up the skills he needs to create quality mittens fairly easily. He also holds a long running passion for design, which has been important in getting Link Designs up and running.

When he isn’t in his shop making custom gloves, Samuelson said he spends his spare time on stage playing with the band Rough Stock. The band performs covers of musicians including Tyler Childers, Chris Stapleton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Billy Squier and Bad Company. Samuelson graduated from Steamboat Springs High School in 2012, and from CMC in 2018.

“I wanted to do the ski and snowboard business because my dad started telling me about that when I was in high school,” Samuelson said. “So I went to college for (snowsports business), and this came out of that. I never intended this to be anything major. I never thought I would be doing it full-time, but through the years I just kept doing more and more of it, and it became a thing.”