With more than 24 years of experience working with leather—and a lifetime as an artist—I decided it was time to bring everything I had learned together.
Genesis Design was created to make one-of-a-kind handcrafted leather bags that are more than something you carry. Each one is a piece of wearable art.
Every bag begins with an original idea and is individually designed and handcrafted. I don't mass-produce my work, and I don't duplicate my designs. When a piece is finished, there will only be one.
I may not have a famous designer name behind me, but I've spent a lifetime developing my skills as an artist and craftsman. My goal is simple: create work that can stand beside the best on its craftsmanship, originality and attention to detail.
Please take a look at my first designs and let me know what you think. If you're interested in commissioning a one-of-a-kind piece of wearable art, I'd love to hear from you and talk about what we could create together.
Best Regards, Rocky Felix
First Bike I ever designed and painted
Only plane I ever painted. G3
My leather Harley seats
My leather Harley seats
My story began with my father, C.W. Felix, “Cat Gato,” a well-known Los Angeles artist. Some of his earliest work was created during my childhood, and his artwork was displayed in galleries throughout Los Angeles and at the Smithsonian National Museum. His work received recognition from celebrities including Taylor, Tom Bradley and others, as well as a letter from President Gerald R. Ford.
My first experience working with my father was painting large-scale murals throughout Los Angeles. Some were featured on television shows and movies, including Collateral with Tom Cruise. One theater mural stretched across a large bullfighter scene. I was probably 13 years old when I painted the bull's eyes. Yes—even then, I did what I envisioned.
Early in my art career, my father tried to talk me out of it—the term “starving artist” was very real.
At 18, I was offered a job as an artist for a magazine, but I turned it down. Office life wasn't for me. I tried formal art programs, but my heart wasn't in them either. I wanted to create on my own terms.
One of my first projects was painting a custom car with murals of the owner's hometown. That project started a career painting custom cars and Harley-Davidson motorcycles around the world for more than 25 years.
One of my most unusual commissions was painting a Gulfstream G3 jet with flames.
In 2004, I began working with leather, creating custom seats for the Biker Build-Off shows on the Discovery Channel. That experience eventually led me from custom cars and Harley-Davidson motorcycles into handcrafted leather gun holsters.
At first, I wanted to create artwork on the holsters, but over time I learned from many experts in the industry that production holsters needed a different approach.
leatherwork that could also be viewed as art.
I built a successful leather holster business and developed a reputation for quality craftsmanship. But the artist in me never went away. I continued incorporating artwork into special one-of-a-kind holsters, turning a functional piece into something personal and unique.
In 2023, I began experimenting with three-dimensional, hand-embossed leather artwork. Those pieces were shipped to clients around the world. From what I could tell, I was creating something unusual: functional
