
Chicago’s Last Tannery - gregmolnar
https://thedistance.com/horween
======
rjett
I have a friend who quit his day job working as a developer for a design
agency. He now makes handcrafted leather products for men because he likes the
satisfaction of working with his hands on physical products. Incidentally,
Horween supplies all his materials. As you would expect from reading the
article, it's quality stuff. If you're in the market for some cool products
that will last a lifetime, check out starkmade.com.

~~~
sogen
Thanks, how did he start or how did he get his first clients?

~~~
erikholmberg
Hey there! I'm Erik, the guy behind J. Stark. I started by failing. I know
that sounds funny, but I just started making things and learning 1 little
piece to make better in the next iteration.

I worked nights and weekends. I'm still not able to support myself 100% with
this venture, but I have my heart in it and I'm willing to hustle and grind
until I can.

The first clients were free. Mostly friends and people I met that I asked what
product they needed most. Then I went off and tried to make it. The reaction
when someone holds something made by your hand is like a drug.

If you want to talk more about it, feel free to email me. info [at] starkmade
[dot] com

~~~
sogen
great stuff man, sending email tomorrow

------
twosheep
I got Alden shell cordovans, which are made with Horween leather, and I can
already tell that they will last years longer than my other shoes. Don't spend
$100 on shoes every year, spend $600 on shoes that will last for 10 years.

~~~
freehunter
That's not always the best advice, though. What happens if my shoes get ruined
after two years? I would have been better off with the cheaper shoes. What
happens if my taste changes and I don't like boat shoes (or now I only like
boat shoes)? I would have been better off with cheaper shoes. What happens if
I lose a foot in an industrial accident? I would have been better off with
cheaper shoes.

~~~
shijie
One can argue "what-ifs" ad infinitum with no real efficacy or usefulness.
Comments of this ilk are completely unhelpful. The parent comment is merely
saying that, if one plans on wearing a type of shoe for an extended period of
time (dress shoes like an Allen Edmonds Park Avenue, for example, have hardly
changed in decades), one might as well buy the best, and have it last for a
long time. One actually saves money by doing so.

~~~
_delirium
> One actually saves money by doing so.

This is what the disagreement is over, though: empirically, do most people
taking this route save money, or do they end up spending more money in hopes
of long-term savings that do not materialize? It depends strongly on the shoe,
wearer, and various failure modes (and how repairable / expensive to repair
each of those failure modes is). In my own case, I've generally found that the
expensive shoes fail to save money, because even though they're more
repairable, the cost of repairs eats up any savings, vs. just treating shoes
as a disposable good (might be different if I lived somewhere with lower labor
costs; around here even a simple resoling costs $50, and anything more
involved starts at $100+). That might still be worth it if you prefer the nice
shoes, don't like unnecessarily sending things to landfills, or other reasons,
but for me, from a strictly cost standpoint I've found it hard to come out
ahead.

~~~
galago
It took me a second to think through the premise that $600 dollar shoes might
make economic sense. My guess is that people who wear $600 shoes don't walk to
work, or really walk much of anywhere, at least not in their $600 shoes. So,
they probably do last longer and fulfill the social signalling or whatever
other purpose said shoes fulfill. I don't think anyone wears's shabby old 9
1/2 year old shoes that originally cost $600. I suspect people usually wear
$600 shoes so that others can tell that they are not price-sensitive regarding
footwear.

~~~
larrywright
I doubt it. People who want flashy shoes that people will notice spend money
on more exotic brands, not Alden or Allen Edmonds.

Shell cordovan is a bit unique amongst shoe leathers. It is valued by the
people who wear it primarily because of the way it looks. Shell doesn't
develop creases when you wear it, it develops "rolls". It also (at least in
colors other than black, like Horween's famous Color 8), develops a patina
that leather made from cow hide doesn't. It looks much better with age.

I just sold my late stepfather's 40 year old shell cordovan shoes for $100.
They have seen lots of wear over the years, but are in great shape, and look
amazing because of the afore-mentioned patina. That is why people pay that
much for shell cordovan.

------
brc
It's interesting the migration of trends from the hand-crafter (but expensive)
to the mass-produced, but cheap, and then starting to come back to the hand-
crafted, where it can be afforded.

I'm not sure if that is a natural cycle of fashions - or a choice that has
become repopular by increasing affluence.

I see a lot of low-volume, handcrafted things growing in size, whether it is
low-volume hand-crafted vehicle manufacturers (like Morgan), low-volume
handcrafted products (like craft beer) and even low-volume, hands-on farming.

At this point I take the re-emergence of these things as a sign of growing
affluence, where there is so much disposable income it can be spent on things
which are off the cost/benefit ratio in comparison to competitors. Perhaps it
is a swing away from owning large properties as a form of wealth consumption
and more towards individual items, betraying a gradual lowering in the average
age of people who are able to afford such things.

At any rate, it's an interesting phenomena to watch.

~~~
leemcalilly
I think the internet is enabling this trend. It allows you to bypass the
middle man. The consumer is also able to educate themself on products more
easily (because of the internet). So high-quality products are more
affordable, but not necessarily cheap. It's awesome. You see this happening
with everything from Warby parker to Tonx coffee to clothing startups like
Frank & Oak.

My company, Original Fuzz, just launched a guitar strap that uses Horween
leather ([http://www.originalfuzz.com/products/skinny-leather-
guitar-s...](http://www.originalfuzz.com/products/skinny-leather-guitar-
strap)), and we could have never made it with Horween 10 years ago. We're able
to sell it for $48 because we can find customers from around the world through
the web. You don't have to do the traditional keystone pricing and leave room
for retailers and distributors if you don't want to.

~~~
brc
A very good point. In order to match up the limited supply of handmade goods
with the limited market of buyers, you need to have a long-tail searching
tool, and the ability to tap into small but geographically dispersed
consumers. The internet is indeed the glue that brings this together, probably
moreso than rising incomes (which have been rising for a long time, anyway).

------
photoGrant
Go past the place quite a lot. Definitely know it's there, the stench!

~~~
drzaiusapelord
I drive by all the time on Ashland. I just assumed it was another rotting
piece of "Old Chicago" and would soon be turned into condos. Good to hear its
a successful business.

------
freehunter
I've never understood the need for putting the source of the article in the
title of the submission. It's usually not important (I have no idea what The
Distance is), it can be confusing (is The Distance the name of the tannery?)
and it's printed literally right after the title of the submission
(thedistance.com). I see it all the time, though, mostly on other sites like
Reddit (Major Political Scandal Breaking - Forbes (forbes.com)).

Why?

~~~
aspidistra
The HN guidelines specifically ask submitters to take the title out:

 _If the original title includes the name of the site, please take it out,
because the site name will be displayed after the link anyway._

[http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

~~~
dang
Quite. We've edited the title accordingly.

------
cmbaus
I'm a big fan of horween and alden. If you care about quality and
craftsmanship, then I think the products are worth the price (even if it has
gone up a lot in the past few years). It is possible to wear out cordovan, but
you really have to work at it. Horween shell is an awesome material.

------
ScoobTEQ
Anyone who is interested in some really fantastic Horween products (belts,
wallets, bags, etc.) check out Mitchell Leather goods, another family owned
multi-generational business:

[http://www.mitchell-leather.com/](http://www.mitchell-leather.com/)

------
kippn_it_real
Some day I will get one these bags made from Horween leather:
[http://www.kaehler1920.com/shop/briefcases/leather-
briefcase...](http://www.kaehler1920.com/shop/briefcases/leather-briefcases)

