Rowe's Leather

Rowe's Leather ShopRowes Leather was started in 1955 by James Doc Rowe, a Hope, Arkansas police officer, in a small storage shop behind his house with the original intention of building saddles as a hobby, but he quickly saw the benefit of his ability to also build his own police gear and it didnt take long for the area folks to notice the quality... leather goods he was putting out. The business took off and the demand for Docs leather goods grew. Before long, he was building saddles and saddle tack, belts, police gear, billfolds, and other odds and ends. After suffering a heart attack and enduring bypass surgery in 1974, Docs doctors medically retired him from the police force and also from the leather business. In accordance to doctors orders, he sold his sewing machine and burned all of his patterns, rendering it next to impossible to do leather work and lessening the temptation to jeopardize his health by doing so. In 1977, Docs son Kenny Rowe concocted a brilliant plan to get Doc out of the four walls of his house and back to enjoying the hobby hed had in the early days. Since Docs health was good and his passion for leather work was still there, Kenny decided he would re-open the leather shop and have his dad teach him everything he had taught himself about the leather business. They worked side-by-side for almost 6 years, and then one day Doc came in one and told Kenny he wasn't working anymore. He felt Kenny knew enough about the leather business without him being there. Kenny continued to work alone at the leather shop part-time for the next 11 years. During this time, he established a name for himself as one of the top-notch makers of leather goods in the area and began reaching a group of clientele beyond the borders of Hempstead County, or Arkansas, and even the United States. When Kenny decided in 1994 to quit his full-time job and make Rowes Leather into his sole livelihood, it was a gamble and a heavy consideration, but he had faith that his skills and abilities would carry him through. Shortly ...Read More