[1] He was the first man elected to the committee of the national Māori weavers' collective, Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa.
[3] He attributes his time as a weaver and guide at the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua as fundamental to his practice.
He acknowledges Bubbles Mihinui, Mini Hohepa, Kura Raponui, Homai Balzer, Denny Anaru, Katiroa Tuhakaraina and Emily Schuster as major influences and teachers of fibre arts during his time there.
[2] Leonard pays close attention to detail and process: "everything is done by hand, from extraction to spinning to dying to weaving designs".
[5] Nigel Borell writes that Leonard's works "are complemented with natural dyes and dying techniques, giving the garments a dignity that is not complicated or contrived".