Fox Creek Leather

What products are listed for this advertiser?

American Made Chaps, Made in the USA Gloves, American Made Leather Dress Jackets, Made in America Leather Gloves, American Made Leather Shirts, Made in America Leathers, Made in America Motorcycle Jackets, American Made Motorcycle Vests, Made in America Rain Gear, and Made in America Wallets.

Fox Creek Leather is a small, family-owned company located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you want to know how all this got started, where we've been and what we're up to now, read on.

The Fox Creek Leather Story
By Paul Trachy
After getting out of the army in 1970, I engaged in the typical roaming odyssey that afflicted my generation. After six years, I settled on the banks of Fox Creek in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's a beautiful part of the country where a carpenter with his own truck, tools, wife, and two kids could earn four dollars an hour. The desire to have food and clothing led me to supplement my income, and Fox Creek Leather was born.
Picture of Paul beside a trailer with a tirePaul changing a tire on the way to Sturgis, 1987.
I began selling leather on the road at swapmeets, drag races, parties, etc. The residual fear the public harbors towards bikers can probably be traced to these early bacchanalian rites. Even the most outrageous events of today seem like well-coordinated church functions compared to what used to go on. People got shot. People were run over. People fell down. Security was heavily armed and nervous. At the exit gate of one event, a billboard read: Before you leave make sure you have your helmet, your license, and your clothes.
My entire family worked the circuit, sometimes gone a month at a time. It was a great place to bring up kids. They got to see everything imaginable, with parental supervision. I remember one late August night in Sturgis, my young sons listening to some reformed-addict Christian biker friends talk about how happy they are to be alive, their dead friends, how bad this or that had messed them up. Best anti-drug program ever.
Two children looking through a pile of empty boxes at a deserted fairgroundPete & Seth in Atco, NJ looking through post swapmeet debris in search of lost treasure.
Because they were my crew, my kids were exempt from the over-21 rule most venues had. At one event, my five- and eight-year-old boys asked if they could join the crowd to watch the Wet T-Shirt Contest. You didn't see a lot of t-shirts at these contests. The boys came back to the stand, arms folded across their chests and seething with moral indignation, shaking their heads and muttering unfair, unfair. I asked them what was wrong. They said the girl with the largest breasts hadn't won.
Back then everything was made in the USA. I sought out the best craftsmen I could find and have maintained these relationships for the last twenty-five years. These days, 98% of what you see from other companies is imported. Most of it doesn't fit or last. Through misleading labels and clipped tags, these products try to insinuate that they have something to do with the U.S. Unless it says Made in USA, it's not (Why made in USA?).
We are rural and remote, our hands on the future but our fannies in the past with four computers and two outhouses. Earlier this month a 6-foot black snake crawled across the floor, inspiring Lisa to assume an unconventional position at her desk. You may visit us, but please always call ahead so we can fit you in.
I would like to thank all of my employees, past and present, and the thousands of returning customers who have taken care of my employees and my family.
Paul
November 2002
Independence, VA
P.S. Since this was written we have renovated and moved to the Black Rock Motel two miles north of Independence on Highway 21. We are up to twelve computers four indoor bathrooms and a dedicated retail space. Y'all come! The two hundred plus year old log cabin I live in on Fox Creek still sports a Johnny House as the sole means of communing with the waste spirits.

The following is a reply from Fox Creek Leather to our question – "Are your products Made in the USA?"

How do you know the products you have listed are Made in the USA?
Before including products in our database we review the advertiser’s website and/or contact them to ascertain the origin of their products. Some advertisers sell both Made in USA products and foreign ones. Therefore we highly recommend you review FAQ 2.

We immediately investigate any complaints regarding deceptive Country of Origin claims. If we determine an advertiser's claim is not truthful we will immediately remove the product/s from our database and suspend our relationship with the Company making the claim.

To document your complaint, email us by using our Contact Us page. We can only respond to complaints that have been submitted in writing.

What does Made in USA mean?
There is no law requiring most products to be labeled Made In USA, or have any other disclosure about the amount of U.S. content. However, for job creation purposes (see our Big Secret tab), if you have a choice between an imported product and one with no country of origin on its label, choose the product without a country of origin over the imported one. This is true because the product without the country origin on its label has at least some American labor in its content and the imported one most likely does not.

Note: Imported products are required by law to country of origin on their label and products partially Made In USA do not. To answer this question completely reviewing our Labeling Tips 1, 2 & 3. These tips are accessible from scrolling to the bottom of our home page clicking Browse All Tips button.