About Us -
MK Custom Idaho specializes in producing handcrafted cowboy gear, including bits, spurs, conchos, jewelry and saddle blankets. Owners Gary Keithley and Linda Morton-Keithley live in Melba, Idaho, a ranching/farming community located 30 miles southwest of Boise.
A fourth generation Idahoan, Gary grew up on a family cattle ranch near Midvale and began creating saddles and other cowboy gear while still in high school. Having spent much of his life as a working cowboy, he understands the need for comfortable, functional riding gear that is also aesthetically pleasing. In 1992 Gary was awarded a competitive grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts (ICA) to attend the acclaimed Elmer Miller School of Silversmithing in Nampa, Idaho. He also served as a Master Artist through the ICA's Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program in 2005, teaching the art of saddlemaking. In 2008, Gary was honored with an Idaho Governor's Award in the Arts - Excellence in Folk and Traditional Arts.
Linda grew up in Michigan and has been weaving since taking an undergraduate weaving class at Western Michigan University in her hometown of Kalamazoo. She furthered her textile background at Colorado State University, obtaining an M.S. degree in historic costume and textiles in 1981. She has also worked in the history field - as a museum director, archivist and historian - for the past 30 years and edited the book, Sitting Tall: Saddles and Saddlemaking in Idaho (Boise: Idaho State Historical Society, 2000).