When you are five years old, a common response to “what do you want to do when you grow up?” would include actress, astronaut or football star.

For Ann Zabel, it was a different road.

At age 5, she began the profession she still practices today: leather working.

Zabel owns the St. Ignatius-based Leather Rose Saddlery, a custom leatherwork and repair shop she has run for 27 years at different locations around the Flathead Valley. Arlee, Moiese and Missoula were previous stops, before she set up her spacious shop six years ago in Mission. The easygoing lifestyle of the valley is what has always appealed to Zabel, who grew up outside of Seattle.

“Sometimes I’ll put a sign up at lunchtime saying ‘Gone fishin’’ and to look for me down by Mission Creek,” Zabel said.

Her zest for fishing, hunting and horseback riding make it easy for her to relate to her clientele. You name it, she makes it: Photo albums, checkbook holders, chaps, gun holsters and of course, saddles.

“I used to do a lot of motorcycle gear,” Zabel said. “It’s funny, you have a Harley, you do a lot of motorcycle gear. You get rid of your Harley, the Harley guys leave and you put a horse in your pasture and you get the cowboys.”

Over the years, Zabel estimates she has made 30 saddles, an endeavor that takes approximately two or three months. She starts with a custom-fitted saddletree, the hard backbone of the saddle. Then she adds the leather, custom designing it to the exact specifications her client requests. To say the finished products are beautiful is an understatement; Zabel has a stable of tools and can masterfully create the most intricate designs quickly and skillfully. After all, she has 42 years of experience to rely on.

“I always wanted to be a saddle maker,” Zabel said. “When I was real little, my mom asked me what I wanted to do, and I said I wanted to be a saddle maker, and she said well you know, that probably isn’t going to happen. And she said, what else? And I said I wanted to be an Indian, and she said, well that’s definitely not going to happen.”

What has happened is Zabel has created a small, prosperous business that she loves working at. Word has spread about her ability, and clients come in for new items or to get older, loved items repaired.

“I don’t really do any advertising, so I mostly get business from word-of-mouth,” Zabel said. “With the economy down, I’ve been doing more repairs than new items.”

Zabel’s father was a carpenter so she learned from an early age how to work with her hands. She started her first business in high school when she would make leather bracelets for friends so that she could support her love of nice leather objects.

“Luckily I grew up in the ’70s when everyone was wearing their boyfriend’s names on wristbands, and every week they’d change so I had a pretty lucrative business there in high school,” she said.

One of Zabel’s favorite experiences with leatherworking was seven years ago when she taught two Arlee boys how to make a saddle. The boys documented their experience in a booklet with photos and instructions, and took the saddle to the Missoula County Fair where they won first prize. Zabel claims they still ride the saddle today. Teaching people has taught her more about the art, and she enjoys the daily interaction with different people.

“If you’re not learning you might as well quit,” Zabel said. “It’s also nice to see people out with you’re gear. It’s good to know it lasts.”