![]() ![]() One of the contractors that was building the Wickett & Craig facility came in for supplies and offered me a job. But the labor rate was right, and there were 16 acres with an 180,000 square foot, relatively new shell of a building here.Īt that time I was going to college, and worked in a hardware store. They did a lot of footwear, they were one of the main sole manufacturers at that time, although they’re no longer in existence. You need to get out of Toronto.” And at that time, in my hometown of Curwensville, Pennsylvania was an abandoned cheese factory.Ĭurwensville was already a tannery town because of Howes Leather, a sole bend and shoulder tannery. Literally, Toronto said “we’re taking your property. ![]() And then in 1989, the city of Toronto thought it was going to get the ’92 Olympics, so it actually expropriated a handful companies from the city limits. Wickett & Craig was in Toronto for 123 years. Matt: My history and Wickett & Craig’s kind of go hand in hand. Stitchdown: I always Iove to start with the history of an operation and the person I’m talking to-Wickett & Craig definitely has a long and interesting one. I had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Bressler, Wickett & Craig’s Vice President and Sales Manager- who’s spent his entire career at the tannery-to run through Wickett’s outlook and leathers, their process, some troubling issues he sees in the leather industry, and where the tannery is going from here. While I can’t name names at this point, you’ll also begin to see Wickett & Craig leathers on other, very prominent makers in the short term. But recently bootmakers have been recognizing the potential of their leather, including Pacific Northwest stalwart Nick’s Boots, and Tokyo’s Clinch. The products created with Wickett & Craig leather have traditionally ranged from saddles and holsters, to belts and wallets, to Filson bags of all kinds. The Curwensville, PA-based operation exclusively creates vegetable-tan leathers, a more natural, environmentally friendly product that ages and patinas with extreme beauty and uniqueness. Wickett & Craig has been making leather for a long time, at least if you consider 153 years to be a long time. ![]()
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