Behind the Brand: Columbia Pressworks and their Inspiring Craftsmanship

Elliott and Pam Parks didn’t just build Columbia Pressworks—they poured their souls into it. Every detail was shaped with grit, sacrifice, and the kind of precision that can’t be faked. Their journey wasn’t a straight line; it was a path forged through trial, error, and raw perseverance, where each small win came hard-earned, and every setback demanded something deeper.

It started in Clyde, Texas in 2013, when Elliot co-founded a company crafting high-end leather signage and décor. The process was far from simple—eighteen months of experimentation went into building the methods and tools necessary to bring his ideas to life. Heat levels. Pressure timing. Edge definition. Nothing was off-the-shelf. But once the system clicked into place, the business thrived.

Then in 2016, Elliot made a bold move: he sold his stake and stepped away from what he’d built by hand. Not out of failure—but out of conviction. There was still something ahead worth making. Something that hadn’t yet been imagined.

In 2017, the Parks family relocated to Columbia, Tennessee—a place where tradition still lingers in the brick and sawdust, and craftsmanship is woven into the local rhythm. There, Elliot began building custom equipment from the ground up. Among them: a 520-ton postless press capable of stamping entire hides in a single pass—a tool engineered to solve a problem no other machine in the industry could touch.

But Columbia Pressworks was never just about machinery. It was about vision.

In 2021, Elliot and Pam began incorporating USGS topographic models into their leather goods. The process demanded months of experimentation—a herd’s worth of hides pressed, tested, and set aside in the search for clarity and depth. At the same time, they perfected solid copper city maps, using custom engraving techniques to reveal every ridge and line like a fingerprint cast in metal.

Their journey is one of blood, sweat, and the kind of relentless resolve that most don’t see. There were times when the pressure—financial, emotional, physical—threatened to shut the whole thing down. But Elliot and Pam never stopped. They believed they were creating something people didn’t know they needed—until they held it in their hands and felt its weight.

This is more than craftsmanship. It’s a form of preservation.

At a time when handmade work is giving way to the frictionless and disposable, Columbia Pressworks holds firm.  Leather and Copper—materials born from land and forged by time—are given new voice here. Honoring their past. Earning their permanence.

This is the core of American craft: the will to build, to invent, to get it right even when it’s harder. It’s a reminder that beauty lives in detail, that patience is still powerful, and that our landscapes—etched in topography and memory—deserve to be carried forward.

Columbia Pressworks isn’t just a company. It’s a stand for what matters. For the makers who came before. And for the belief that American ingenuity, when held with both hands, still shapes something worth keeping.  Explore Our Bespoke Maps