BKB Leather in Lawrence
Your well-coiffed (and somewhat MIA) scribe has been a little busy…
However, I ran across a 30 year-old business in Lawrence that’s right up my alley and thought I’d share this great little find with readers.
For years I’ve had a fascination with vintage shoes. Among my collection, a pair of 1960’s Cole Haan brogues, Bill Blas Italian import woven leather oxfords and my most recent find a pair of Johnston and Murphy saddle oxfords from the ‘70’s.
For day to day maintenance I always turn to Plaza Shoe Shine.
My grandfather introduced me to them in the 1970s and it’s my go to place for a quality shine. However the saddle oxfords demanded a little more restoration.
With my most recent purchase in the trunk and headed to KU – with a side trip to see my editor, whatshisname – I decided to GPS leather repair. Much to my delight, I discovered BKB Leather, 811 Elm St, Lawrence, KS 66044.
So I selected my route then hit “drive.”
Next thing I knew, I was pulling up in front of what looked to be a little hippy commune laden with yard art. Two houses connected with a breezeway and a shed off to the side with signage that indicated I had indeed arrived.
In the front yard sat two old cars, a travel trailer and the owner’s daily driver; a 1955 Chevy truck, totally original and untouched.
So I ducked my head and walked in the front door past a concrete Jesus with outstretched arms, to a room filled with hundreds of pairs of shoes and a step back in time to the 1940s.
And there’s nothing quite like that old school feel and the smell of leather.
I was greeted by Glen who’s been with BKB for 15 years. Glen works on shoes and keeps the machinery in tune. Mark is a woodworker by trade but has spent the last 6 years learning the leather business and builds whatever the shop needs as well.
Then, in walked the unassuming and totally delightful patriarch of this 33 year-old business, Bruce Kelly Barlow. Originally BKB stood for the partners, Bruce, his friend Kite and brother, Barlow. The two partners fell by the wayside and now it’s Bruce and his two coworkers.
This is a place you just have to see to believe.
Barlow came out of what he describes as “the redneck construction” world and had an interest in leather work going back to his Boy Scout days. His interest was piqued in later years when a leather shop in Lawrence burned down. Barlow bought the leather, some tools and whatever could be salvaged from the fire. Then he took up the hobby of making tool belts for men on his construction crew from salvaged leather.
Included in his custom creations was a set of custom, black “Johnny Cash” bags.
Later when Barlow found himself sidelined with a construction injury and unable to work for an extended period he visited the local library where he checked out a book on leather. In the back of his mind he knew he might have to go a different direction with his career and his love of leather had never left him.
Barlow takes reading and reinventing yourself seriously. So he read the book and hung out his shingle the next week.
He saw a need and niche for repairing, building and customizing saddles and made a name for himself in that world in very little time.
It wasn’t long after that, that he noticed that shoe shops in the area started closing. Many were struggling small businesses anyway, but the death blow came because they couldn’t keep up with new shoe construction techniques and manmade soles.
So rather than learn and adapt, they closed.
Barlow said, “I had a chance to come in and buy a couple of the shops when they closed,” and found that their customers followed him as well.
Today, he takes in 5-15 jobs a day, a week ago Monday, twenty pair of shoes came in the door. The normal wait time is about three weeks but his goal is to cut that down to one.
’55 Chevy
This is old time craftsmanship like no one does it any more.
Barlow told me, “There’s strife and stress here, like any other business, but nobody is trying to get out the door at 5:00. And, we all look forward to coming to work the next day. We’re just trying to have some fun.”
Hey, it’s totally worth the drive just to go see these guys.
And if you have leather work of any kind that needs to be done, this is the spot. I’ll never take anything shoe or leather related anywhere else. Next up, they’re restoring a vintage 1960’s Hartman leather carryon for me.
Stop by and check them out.
You’ll leave with a smile on your face and see life as it used to be when men cared about their craft.
you’ve got to be kidding.
Harley is getting ready for his debut on KCC and his fans and disciples
are clamoring for his writings and you come with a story about some
cobblers.
Porbably great people but last time I was in Lawrence everyone
was wearing birkenstocks! Do they work on them?.
Before reading I was hoping there’d be more to this quaint story like
handcuffs and rope…or maybe someone calling in CSI to find out
who stole Mrs. Andersons slippers…or you going under the dashboard
in a special report to discover who’s been stealing their hammers!
Maybe next article you write will be about the blacksmith in buckner
or the old livery stable in liberty.
Still good to have you back wislun…missed these “old time” stories
from the 1950’s!
And next time my soles wear out on my shoes I’ll definitely take them
to “whats that name” in Lawrence. Oh BKB!
thanks..
your friend
Harley
Hey, why don’t you just admit that it’s an excellent human interest story, H Man.
After all, there’s more to life than just somebody’s head on your tentpole, right?
Admin, youre the one giving this douche nozzle a chance to further tarnish your blog. Now we get comments and a 2nd story, I’m sure is destined to be the same steaming pile of poo the last one was.
At least make him use his real name, Harley McMensa. You’ve for Cecil Common Sense or whatever his name is, one anonymous writer is enough.
Ever read something so bad it makes you squint? Wait for his soon to be released story number 2! Oh, and I remember the day he said on TKC he’d NEVER come back here and he was way too busy to write for KCC. That makes him wrong twice so far today.
Harley is a swirling vortex of entropy with as little control over his kooky impulses as Justin Bieber!
As Mark Smith so cleverly said, leave him in his rubber room, molding his own poop into fruit roll ups! We don’t need that here.
human interest if you make shoes.
Maybe submit it to SHOEMAKERS MONTHLY.
they’d love wisluns old time yarns and old time stories.
And yet we await the second installment from one who takes up a lot of his valuable time to diss a guy who has churned out many articles. Many greatly reveled in their splendor.
The publisher/editor does not care for my foibles. Once was enough he didn’t say but has implied.
Harley’s nearly incoherent ramblings remind me of what a Scrabble game played by chimps would look like. with better spelling.
Darn, that was better than my Bieber reference….
well, the beebs ref wasn’t bad, and timely I thought considering I just read earlier today that he is actually going to be the VOICE of KIT from Knight Rider fame in a remake, with the Hoff, no less.
(actually, there are any number of “stars” that utter, or tweet, inane stupid sh*t all the time. plenty to choose from.)
Wilson writes the word leather and harley gets his ovaries all twisted because the story is about shoes and not ass-less chaps and gimp hoods. As for me, I wait with great anticipation for the second installment of the MU Janitor’s chronicles, penned by the Hemingway of KCC, harley. Say what you will about harley, but his writing has a certain flow to it…sort of like sewage flowing through a broken pipe making the entire neighborhood stink of $hit and despair. Should be a hoot.
I would request that Mark Smith notice he got credit for one of the best, all time Harley analysis in the history of ever. Molding poop into fruit roll ups in his rubber room…. Kudos to you, Mr Smith.
thanks for the ink guys….I’m right behind the glaze man in mentions.
I will never equali his notoriety on here…but that story about some
cobblers was boring.
Notice no one even mentioned the story….hearne should delete it for
lack of readership….because without my comments no one would have
given a sh*tl
nice these guys still practice an old craft…about as old as the guys on kcc
including wislun.
of an wislun….whats next? hahahahahahahaha
“…about as old as the guys on kcc”
…Says the guy that remembers Metcalf when it was a gravel road.
Harley thinks just because he gets a lot of mentions that he’s liked. Hitler gets a lot of ink too and he was kindof an ass!
Draw the parallels, son. You’re not liked here, you’re a literary idiot and should stick to home made fruit roll ups. You’re tolerated because you’re like the guy everyone loves to hate.
Poor Harley…..Even Google can’t translate him.
i did not follow most of the comments however ill not turn Harley away and thank Paul for his notice of us. check my FB if you’d like– BKB Leather
Thanks guys, you have an incredible business and I love what you guys do. Please ignore Harley and his foul comments. He’s a local mental patient and once in a while a sneaks into the library and gets on a computer. Every neighborhood has “that guy,” he’s ours. Sad but true.
He does very good work but takes forever.
hahahahahaha…..this article was boring…just like the rest of the
stuff this guy posts.
a leather shoe store….now that’s a real story.
they may do good work but who’s driving to Lawrence besides hearne
or wislun ….most of us when the soles go bad have the money to
go
buy some new shoes.
Wislun needs to stop buying shoes at shoe carnival!!!!!!! hahahahahaha!
Hey, douchenozzle, once again you show your ignorance in so many topics. I have more money in one pair of restored, vintage shoes than you do in all your shoes combined, including the KEDS they buy you at the home…. Go back to what you know, making fruit roll ups out of your own poop.
those pf flyers you tried to repair are way too gone.
Your shoes…now its your shoes.
I see….you shop at shoe carnival…spin the wheel
and get another pair of knockoffs for free.
where did you get your shoes repaired before you
discovered this great secrtet (wislun knows all the
secrets…jewlthief secret…spring secret…the guys
are regular secretive magnet…he know everything except
he never gets it right)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You went to some blacksmith in Baldwin to get those
j and m repaired. Go buy another pair. Go see rocky
at bob jones. He’d love suckers like you.
shoes….I’m sure those old beat up klogs you’re wearing
when you spin the old down on the farm yarn stories
puts everyone to sleep.
what can we expect next…
getting old torn sock reweaved in waverly?
maybe fixing old under wear in Eudora. Or
fixing your suspender in Sedalia?
you spend $30 in gas to fix some old scuffed up shoes?
right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
love to see y our closet. Probably some other things
in there you wouldn’t want people to see..
so quaint. Im sure your syndicator would love to run
that piece.
hey how about the spats you wore to the jazz joints.
you take them to get fixed and shined.
try the guy in the bathroom at the intercontinental…
you cansee yourself inthose spats.
nice job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hey hearne…wheresthe jewel theif?
wislun….you were 10000% on the sprint deal. Thought maybe you were
so ashamed that your inside sources were wrong that you gave up writing forever.
that wasa classic mistake…the worst in kcc history. So writing about
cobblers because you can’t screw up a story about guys who repair shoes. hahahaha.
This was notaimed at the owners…it was aimed at whoever put this up.
your job is to entertain readers.
therewas not one single positive coments about the story…everything we
aimed at me saying that it was not a good article to post…no one cared..
and again Harley is proved right.
hang on folks….Harley is on the Way!!!!!!
Thank you, Mr. Wilson, for a fascinating story about one of the most talented and bravest people I’ve ever known. A disclaimer: Mr. Barlow is my brother-in-law, so throw in whatever thoughts of bias you might have. You will be correct. I love my brother-in-law and am most proud of what he has created. “Reinvention” doesn’t even come close to describing how BKB Leather came to be. Any more than using “built” as in someone built the Titanic. More than product or work, it is passion and devotion to craft that propels BKB Leather, and is what is enfused into every piece. Lydia might be correct; it takes time to do a job correctly. But sorry, Lydia, you can’t hurry art, craftsmanship or love. And just like the finished product, at BKB Leather, it’s all worth waiting for.
nice landscaping job. Did you do wisluns yard too?
I want a leather jacket with jangly chains so I can go see the Pretenders later.
Also, has anyone checked this man’s children’s shoes?
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