Bub Warren. A respected craftsman in the Old World tradition. Creator of exquisite handmade western saddles and accoutrements.
With a price tag of $28,000.00 whoever ends up with this saddle probably won’t be using it much riding the range!
JULY 2, 2014.
REDMOND, OREGON. This was a really special day! As most of you know, I’m taking this Journey as much to meet folks as I am to see places. Today I got to meet a really special man. Here’s how it happened: We had taken our RV to a detail shop to have it washed, polished and waxed. We were told it would take about six hours for the job to be completed, so we had lots of time on our hands. We drove around Redmond a bit, saw Smith Rock State Park and had some coffee. I mentioned to Florence that yesterday I’d seen a shop that sells western saddles and tack…”Maybe it’d be fun to go in there and poke around,” I said. She agreed and a few minutes later we were parking in front of this old building with little idea, really, of what we’d find inside. What a “find.” The place is more museum than retail store. I met the owner and talked to him a very long time. We hit it off and I’m sure if I lived around here his shop is a place I’d frequent just to hang out and swap stories. This guy is truly an interesting American!
MEET BUB WARREN: Born in the Osage Indian lands of Oklahoma, Glen “Bub” Warren was raised on the farms and ranches of the great American West. In his younger days, Bub earned his keep as a carpenter, lawman and as a working cowboy. He later learned the craft of saddle-making from Jerry Franklin of the legendary Franklin Saddle Company. Franklin rigs were prized by generations of genuine buckaroos for their fit, craftsmanship and rugged durability. Before Jerry Franklin died in 1976, he passed the company to Bub Warren, and Bub has preserved the great Franklin tradition in the trappings and art of the Franklin Saddle Company.
FROM COWBOYS TO COLLECTORS: Today, riders and collectors the world over recognize the museum quality of original Bub Warren leatherwork. Every piece he produces reflects the hand of a craftsman, the eye of an artist and the heritage of a true son of the American West. A respected craftsman in the Old World tradition, Bub has made about 1,300 saddles for riders in America, Europe, Japan, Australia and elsewhere. His work has been honored by the Oklahoma diamond Jubilee, the Pendleton Round-Up and the Smithsonian Museum folk life festival. To ensure the authenticity and lasting value of his work, all Bub Warren originals carry his distinctive Buffalo,s skull trademark medallion.
It takes Bub about 300 hours to make one of these saddles. I learned that lots of serious collectors prefer this type of saddle to those heavily adorned with silver. They say the others are “hiding behind the silver.”
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