Lexington, KY - When Ken Guyer first opened his shop, The Last Genuine Leather Co., over 36 years ago, the focus of his business was producing unique leather trinkets for retail, such as sandals and belts. But when he started offering repair work in his shop, the service really took off.
"The way things are now, it's probably about 50 percent of our business," Guyer said. "We've been doing it for years, and a lot of people are trying to get things fixed that they might not have before. And also, some people are just realizing that they can get [certain items] fixed."
Guyer said a large chunk of items customers bring in for repair are the loop handles on handbags and purses, and zipper repair also accounts for a lot of work in the shop. While the majority of zipper repairs involve getting the slider back on track and fixing the stops, Guyer and his associates can also attach entirely new rows of teeth.
Luggage is also a heavily serviced item at The Last Genuine Leather Co., especially when it comes to zippers.
"We also fix a lot of zippers on luggage, because once those people at the airport get a hold of them, they can be really rough," Guyer said. "For a while, some people at the airport were bringing us bags they had messed up."
Other items that often get serviced at the store include jackets, be it stitching tears or patching holes, and belts, usually when the customer has lost weight and needs new holes to accommodate a trimmer waist line.
"It's a little harder to make belts longer," Guyer said, "but we love poking news holes in belts."
Guyer began hosting leather guild meetings at his shop in January open to anybody interested in the trade. Meetings take place on the first Tuesday of every month; for more information, call the store at (859) 253-3121.