Love the smell of leather like the rest of us? Lucky for you, Brown County has all the leather goods (and smells) you need!
Shops like Moonshine Leather Company, Reynolds Leather and Gifts and House of Thunder all provide leather goods for the community and those passing through.
The shop managers and owners all said that Brown County is a great place to sell leather for tourists and locals alike, and each shop has a unique appeal to its customers.
Moonshine Leather Company, owned by Mike Kline, has been part of Nashville since the early 1990s. The shop is unique not only because of Kline’s deep ties to the town but because it is the only leather shop in town that handcrafts its own products.
Retail Manager HollyAnn Love said when she was a kid there were several leather stores that did their own work, but now it’s only Moonshine. She said it’s one of the few crafts that can be done by hand or with minimal supplies, and there’s something artistic about it that people enjoy watching.
“Plus, you get to meet the person that made it, and there’s something really interesting about meeting the person making something that you’re going to carry on a regular basis,” said Love.
Whether looking for belts, wallets, clothing or accessories, everything except for the hats is guaranteed to be made right here in Brown County.
So, where does the leather come from? Well, Kline said he focuses on getting nearly all of his products from tanneries in the U.S. Although there used to be 42 around the country when Kline first started, now there are only three. He still strives to use those as much as possible.
Kline said his main customers are tourists, although there are many locals who like to come in and buy scraps and work on projects themselves. He also said one of the reasons so many people are attracted to leather is because of the natural and durable quality of it.
Nancy Goddard, one of the sewers at Moonshine Leather, said the workmanship and all the hardware are guaranteed for the life of the lather. So, if someone comes in who’s had a product for 20 years and something’s broken, they’re going to fix it for them.
“When you treat people right, you have a lot of returning customers,” said Goddard. “We have people that are back every year who say, ‘when we come here, we come to this store.’”
Jordan Schroeder, Manager of Reynolds Leather and Gifts, said being nice to the tourists really makes a difference, and people come from everywhere just to shop with them.
Reynolds Leather and Gifts has also been in Brown County for decades. Schroeder’s Aunt, Vickie Reynolds, has owned the shop for 40 years. While they also sell wallets and hats; they have other leather clothing like chaps, boots and vests. Schroeder said the main item they sell, however, are jackets, and they take great pride in what they charge for them.
“I always say we’re like the T.J. Maxx of leather,” said Schroeder. “You can look at fake leather online and it’s anywhere from $200 to $500, but we sell our real leather for $139.”
She said their prices are definitely an appeal because they have great quality things and plenty to choose from for much less. While some of their buyers are local, the majority are tourists as well.
Reynolds Leather and Gifts provides protective gear for motorcycle riders, and they see a lot of bikers passing through town that come in and buy from them.
And they’re not the only ones. House of Thunder, just right outside of town, provides numerous motorcycle gear for bikers either passing through or coming for special events at the shop.
Owners, Matt and Connie Gelinske, have provided leather goods in Nashville since 2011 and host numerous events that invite bikers into their shop and into town. Matt said year after year customers come to get outfits or refit ones they’ve already purchased, and they often bring others with them.
“We used to come out here as tourists ourselves, and one day we were sitting in town and I remember noticing there were as many bikes as there were cars in town, and I knew I had to get my business out here,” said Matt.
Whether it’s providing 15 percent cash back benefits for group riders, or Connie’s distinctive ability to size and properly fit anyone for chaps, they focus on selling quality products to the motorcycle community and anyone else who comes in interested in leather gear.
“There’s a history with leather and we’ve been using it for a long time because it’s natural and durable,” said Kline. “It’s unique, no two pieces are exactly alike, and I think people still recognize the value of it today.”
