Who Is Jonny Leather?

Jonny Leather is a semi-functional adult residing in Asheville, NC while flailing wildly for a greater sense of purpose after years spent in New York and Santa Fe.

Fueled by an unhealthy addiction to music, he has callously developed a visual aesthetic derivative of the brilliant artists behind the album covers, posters and music magazines of his youth. Lucking into his first full time design job due to the hotness of his name, Jonny has found a home in the rapidly declining print publishing industry working for such once-celebrated-but-now-defunct published as CMJ, GENRE, NY Press, Modern Painters, Art+Auction, and Gallery Guide.

Early in the 2000s, Jonny began smuggling his camera into concerts in order to take dark, grainy photos of bands few others cared about. The camera provided a clutch to hide behind while suffering from social anxiety. Occasionally, publications such as Billboard, New York Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, and NY Press would be desperate enough to feature his photography in their pages. While social anxiety and lack of experience has kept him from seeking portraiture work, he’s occasionally been coaxed into it. In one embarrassing shoot for the cover of alt-weekly NY Press, Jonny struggled with a malfunctioning polaroid as Sam Rockwell, Clark Gregg, and Chuck Palahniuk awkwardly humored him with their time. At one point, dreaming of becoming a photographer for National Geographic, he enjoys taking pictures of wild animals (but mostly just his lovable dog Arby.

As a human being, Jonny strives to remain satisfyingly employable in order to continue receiving enough income to maintain a modest level of comfort—while also having enough time to pursue his own interests and have quality time with his wife and their dog.

Jonny Leather is an experienced designer & photographer living in Asheville, NC.

Guided by an intense obsession with music since childhood, his design aesthetic draws heavily from the album covers, music magazines and concert posters of his youth. For nearly two decades, Jonny’s intense eye for detail and graphic design skills have been utilized within the publishing industry working at several magazines, newspapers and book publishers (CMJ, GENRE, NY Press, Modern Painters, Art+Auction, Gallery Guide, Plum Print).

Inspired by the photos on his favorite album covers and in the pages of music magazines, Jonny began taking his camera to concerts in the early 2000s. The joy of attempting to capture magic moments of passion happening on stage quickly developed into a nightly pursuit. His concert photography has been featured in Billboard, New York Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, NY Press). While his photography has primarily focused on music, he’s also been drawn to document wildlife, surreal landscapes, and odd roadside attractions.

As a designer, Jonny strives to bring an aesthetically pleasing order to a chaotic world, providing creativity, experience and efficiency and skill to every project.

As a photographer, Jonny’s goal is to capture a unique perspective of the world in which he interacts with.