Hey Nick! Thanks again for taking the time. Let’s get started with the basics. What’s your name, the name of your tannery, and where are you located?

Nick Horween, Horween Leather Company, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

What types of leather do you produce, and how have your offerings evolved from its beginnings in 1905 to now?

We primarily tan steerhide, horsehide, and bison for use in footwear, sporting goods, and small leather goods. When we first opened we produced shell cordovan for razor strops. As the disposable razor grew in popularity we adapted this leather by adding color to the surface. The same things that made it excellent for strops carried over to shoes – dense, water resistant and abrasion resistant. We began to add other tannages around 1910, including Chromexcel. American football leather has been a big part of our production since the 40’s. Our product offerings continue to evolve and grow, driven either by customer requests and needs or through our own development.

We’ve made selective changes over the years when we feel like we can increase quality or consistency in our products. Our strength is that we are willing to take the time and do the handwork to make specialty products.

As someone who’s grown up around leather, do you have any favorite memories in the Horween factory as a kid? Were you hiding in tanning drums, or were you interested in things outside of leather?

I grew up outside of the city and I remember coming in on the train to visit my father and grandfather. Walking in the front door of the tannery still hits me, the smell of leather is strong and specific. The factory floor hasn’t changed since I was a child and I get to work with many people that have been here as long as I’ve been coming the the tannery. I would walk around with my dad and always come home with a little pile of leather cuttings and swatches. When I was about 12 my father gave me a Rawlings baseball glove with my name stitched along the thumb, just like the pros. I remember my dad being so excited to give it to me and jokingly saying something like, “even if you aren’t excited pretend that you are because I think this is awesome.” I didn’t have to pretend, it was awesome. The combination of his enthusiasm and my own excitement to get a new glove was something I’ll never forget. It was the first time I realized that my family produced something that went into products people appreciated.

I was surprised to learn you were a chef in NYC for three years after graduating from the French Culinary Institute. During that time, was there a moment when you decided to leave the kitchen and join the family business? What are some lessons learned in culinary school / as a chef that you took with you to Horween?

I never wanted to work at the tannery just because it was the family business – I wanted to make sure there was a way that I could see myself making a positive contribution. My wife and I were both ready for a change when we moved from NYC to Chicago. We loved living in New York and there was no specific moment that led us to the decision, it seemed like a natural progression.

Cooking and tanning aren’t so different. In both it’s about taking something that is different every time and trying to make a consistent product. Cooking taught me a lot about structure and organization. In a kitchen there are many little operations that need to come together in order to make for a seamless experience for the customers. Tanning is the same, the timeline is just stretched out.

You once wrote, “as with all family businesses, each generation brings their own value to the operation.” What is something you’re proud Horween has implemented or incorporated in the past decade?

I’ve always felt a bit intimidated by the earlier generations. I look at the formulations and processes that they developed or customized to our needs and it’s amazing to me. They had a combination of toughness, fearlessness and ingenuity that is uncommon. I’m happy that we’ve been able to maintain or improve on our mission to provide the best quality product. Beyond that, we’ve tried to make ourselves transparent and accessible so that consumers can understand what makes our product different, and why there are so few left that choose to still make leather the way we do. We’ve also been able to reduce the amount of water and energy we use during processing, without any effect on final quality.

In the profile Chicago Tribune did

This is a complicated process, and it’s made more complicated by the amount of handwork and experience required to make our product the right way. Just because someone is in a position to provide direction does not mean that one is qualified to do so. There is no substitute for experience and often decisions and management are most effective using a collaborative approach. I’ve grown up with and around many of the people that I work with every day and I try to show respect for what they do, how important they are to us, and what we make.

What’s been one of your most worthwhile investments? (Does not have to be business specific; can be investment of time, money, energy, etc.)

My family, the most important investment of them all.

What is one thing you’re proud Horween does — but would never boast about or put in their marketing?

Saying “no.” We’ve had requests and pressure to make our products for less using inferior inputs or methods. We have chosen to maintain our standards and will continue that practice.

Are there any common misconceptions you hear about leather that you’d like to set straight?

There are many strong opinions about leather. There’s a feeling in the market that vegetable tanned leather is better or more environmentally friendly than chrome tanned leather. They are just different and require different types of management through manufacturing. We do both and they each have their strengths and shortcomings.

Composite and synthetic products that are central to many of todays goods do not offer the durability or flexibility that leather does in many uses. They are sometimes cheaper to produce, and they are certainly more consistent, but they are often petroleum derived and get little consideration from consumers about their impact after their useful life is over. Leather is a natural product, it is strong, breathable, biodegradable, and there is a real reason it endures today as viable material.

What’s a story about Horween Leather that doesn’t get told enough?

We don’t sit down at the end of the year and say, “how can we grow 10% next year?” Our meetings are about how can we improve, increase consistency, or develop new tannages that are in line with our methods and mission. This approach has probably limited our overall production but it makes our products better. We can’t compete on price and we don’t have an advertising budget which means our product has to be special.

Almost done! Your first day as a Horween employee was presumably a lot different than your current day-to-day role. Throughout that time, you have been a constant champion of Horween and its mission. What is it that gets you excited and out of bed in the morning?

I find it very rewarding to be in manufacturing. We take something that most consider an ugly byproduct and turn into something beautiful and useful. I’m always very aware that what we produce is a component, and it’s our customers that turn leather into something that people can use. I really enjoy seeing finished products in our leather and I am consistently amazed by the fine work of our customers.

Lastly, where can people find more about Horween (links to online store, blog, Instagram, etc.)?

The best place is our site www.horween.com, and Instagram.