During the late Seventies, there was a leather shop on First Street in the Town of Shenandoah. It was located at 418 First Street in the old Bear Building and was called The Stitching Horse.
It was in the far-left store front, and had opened not long after Mr. Shorty Lam closed his barber shop at the same location. This is the same location that Jade & Grace operated a hair salon out of up until a few weeks ago.
The leather shop was run by a gentleman that went by the name of William Collins. This was not his first leather shop as he had operated other leather shops and one was named after his Siamese cat and was called Kabuki Leather Shop.
Mr. Collins was very friendly and even went as far as to teach a few leather crafts to some of the local teenagers. Some even made Christmas presents for their friends and families.
The leather shop had a good steady flow of customers that patronized the shop and was especially busy in the months leading up to Christmas. His most popular item was his men’s bifold personalized wallet. Being that Shenandoah was a Historic Railroad Town, he specialized in carving a steam engine on the outside cover of the wallet along with personalized it with their name. He also made a variety of key fobs, personalized wrist bands, belts, vest and pocketbooks. Despite his steady flow of customers, it was only in business for about a year or so.
Some may be wondering what is a Stitching Horse? The purpose of a stitching horse is to keep items securely in place so you can stitch the leather with ease.
