LANGLITZ LEATHERS, INC.

The Langlitz story begins with the birth of Ross Langlitz July 10, 1918 in New Plymouth, Idaho. When he was young, he moved to McMinville, Oregon, where he grew up. At the age of 17, he lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident that the doctors predicted would end his riding career. Much to their surprise, the first thing Ross did when he returned home is to get on his bike and defiantly ride it back to the hospital. That was the nature of Ross ... to do what others said he couldn't.

Ross rented a corner of the basement of another leather company (Culbertsons) at 17th and East Burnside. While his skills, reputation and customer support developed over the next decade, he found it necessary to supplement his income during the slow seasons by commercial fishing for salmon at the coast. He enjoyed fishing so much that he moved to the beach after retiring in the mid 1980s.

There are 2 family members who work at the shop, and we also have a dozen others who share in the production responsibilities. All production is done on one of 4 cutting tables, and 8 sewing machines. As what must surely be a modern business anomaly, one can enter a single room and order a custom jacket, watch it being cut and then sewed all from the same vantage point!

While we usually build 6 garments per day, it usually takes from a few weeks to a few months to build a custom set of leathers, depending on how many orders we have. A garment can usually be cut in a half day, with the sewing taking place several days later. Depending on the difficulty of the garment, it can take another day or more to sew up. The leathers are cut by a single cutter, and sewn by a single seamstress. No mass production assembly lines can be found at Langlitz!

If you have a chance to visit us and are interested in seeing how we build the leathers, just ask for a tour. You will probably find our space cramped and our tools rather primitive, but it works for us. And ... it's the same way Ross did it more than a half century before.

For those who don't feel the need to wait for a custom garment, we also offer stock leathers for those who need something quickly. If you can come to the shop, you will be able to try on both new and used jackets. And, if you do purchase something from us and years later outgrow it, we can either alter it to fit you again, or offer to buy them back or sell them on consignment for you, which is an advantage few companies can offer. And of course, should you need repairs, we don't want you to risk having somebody else fix it. Our repair service is quick, reasonably priced and expertly done.

...text edited and quoted from the Langlitz Leathers, Inc. website.