UK-based master saddler Geoffrey Dean has decided to retire having spent his whole career in the saddlery business.

Mr Dean always felt he wanted to work with leather and got involved in the trade at the age of 15. He started out helping his father in a boot repair business, and picked up some useful skills there. He managed to get into the saddlery and harness business through a five-year apprenticeship in Oxted, Surrey.

He started his own business in 1970 after managing a saddlery business for several years. Since then he has won a number of awards at the annual Society of Master Saddlers competitions and has helped train a number of young aspiring saddlers.

Geoff Dean Saddlery provides a manufacturing, repair and maintenance service for all saddlery and driving harnesses.