Well…One more insanely crazy year of water under the bridge… Every year I think things can’t possibly get any goofier than they are, and yet here we are, climbing the crazy ladder a rung or two at a time every year!!! I’d like to hope that with the election behind us, things will perhaps level out a bit, but given the history of the past decade, my hope is modest to say the least. BUT….with all of that said, there are a lot of positive things going on that I’m thinking will affect the leather industry in a positive way! At the WESA show this year, a common view among vendors was that during 2024 consumers and buyers were being very conservative and were doing their best to conserve cash and run thru inventory. And now, in 2025 buyers are back in force and things are looking up! One Boot vendor in particular told me that the day we visited his booth was the best and largest volume day that he’d ever had at this event in all the years that he’d been there!!! And he runs 5 boot brands! Another had told us that his increase was making it extremely difficult to keep up with production. Bag and accessory vendors were much the same. My observations at this show tell me that people are buying everything from wallets and handbags to belts and saddles as well as everything in between! And that means that 2025 should be a great year for leather crafters like you and for suppliers like us! Happy Days!!!

With those things being said, SLC has been focusing on refining our product line, lowering costs and prices where we can, and improving shipping times. Of course these are still challenging times that we live in, and improvements take time, but I’m very happy about the steps we’re taking in behalf of our customers. If you’re reading this, you’ve got our new catalog, which has been a while in the works. Our new oil tan selections are fantastic, and priced extremely well. New vendors have enabled us to lower some prices substantially. Our weekly live sale has been extremely well received as have our other social media efforts. In store classes with Denny are amazing!

A very big focus for SLC this year is going to be on education, both for our customers and for those who might want to begin leathercrafting. As you probably are aware, SLC has always been at the forefront of trying to educate leathercrafters, both beginners and experienced. The effort this year is going to be MASSIVE, with young people being the primary focus. Not only are we going to be promoting beginning leathercraft for young people, but we’re also going to be asking you to play a part in helping the young people in this country to put down their cell phone for a bit and pick up a mallet and perhaps a harness needle and some thread!

Enough said for now!!! Thanks for working with us! And if you’re new to SLC….Welcome! Please know that we’ll do our best for you!

Kevin Hopkins
Founder

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