Matt Crowder of Jack Foster Leather Goods built a home-grown leather business using American suppliers
Greenville’s fashion scene grows more complex by the year. Matt Crowder is one of the latest craftspeople to monogram his own niche within the industry, creating supple leather goods, from aviator watch straps to cognac valet trays. The irony is that he labored over bits and code for years before conquering belts and wallets. The Greer native stepped away from his West Greenville workbench to share the secret of success behind his premium leather business, Jack Foster.
Q&A with Matt Crowder of Jack Foster Leather Goods
What beautiful goods. You have so many different types of leather.
We have an American bison collection as well as bags made from ostrich and alligator. I even engraved stingray leather for somebody. That’s probably the most unique thing we’ve made. It’s different. Bumpy and rock-hard. Highly reflective. You can tell it’s a stingray.
Were you into leatherwork growing up?
I did some leather crafting when I was young, and wood working—things my parents brought my way. But I really did normal kid stuff like riding my bike and playing the woods.
Where did you go to school?
I went to Greer High and then Furman University. I started in business after that, and worked for a software development company and created processing software.
How did you ever get into the leather business?
I wanted to start something different. The IT world was crazy and I was essentially on-call 24/7. I wasn’t really fully committed to doing that the rest of my life. Manufacturing had always interested me and I wanted to see if I could do it.
Drill down into Jack Foster for us. What were your goals when you founded it?
I was really interested in American-made manufacturing. I was like a kid channeling Greenville’s textile past and wanted to build a home-grown industry. I source all of my supply line from American companies: a tannery in Chicago. Zippers and hardware from Massachusetts. I try to keep the supply line here as well. That’s something I’m passionate about.
That’s a commitment.
It’s the way I was raised. Cheap, off-shore products don’t necessarily mean they’re long-lasting well-made products. Disposable fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. I wanted to make something that was made here, helps American jobs, has quality, and is long-lasting.
What did you start with?
Watch bands. It’s still one of our most popular items. We do bags and belts. Belts are top-selling at the moment, too. Leather patch hats.
And you’ve expanded into home accessories as well.
I’ve got a lot of engraving equipment. So we do a lot of corporate-branded wood and brass plates. We can engrave just about anything and it’s become a big part of the business. Glass coasters would be some of the most challenging.
How big has the business grown over the last decade-plus?
I have three employees and we hand-make more than 10,000 items a year. I’m in the shop about half the time and in the office the other half. I may have out-lived my shelf life for what I’m doing. I’m almost 45 and had to get a steroid shot this morning for tendonitis!
Ouch! Can you relax away from the shop?
I try. I’m married and we have three dogs. We travel a lot and I do Crossfit and yoga. We’re foodies, although I hate using that term.
We’ll let you get back at it. What are your favorite things to work on?
I really like making bags, brief cases, and duffle bags. I also like running the laser engravers. There’s a lot of math involved and it’s cool to watch. I really consider myself more of a manufacturer than an artisan. You can’t scale art. You can scale manufacturing of quality products. And all in all, it’s been great starting in Greenville. This is a great place to be in business.
For more, visit Jack-Foster.com.
