John Pryor was working to grow Madison Flitch, his heirloom furniture business based in the Crossroads Arts District, when the pandemic shut the city down. With all the uncertainty, he began reflecting on the needs of the community and how he could help in a way that would also keep his business going.
In that process, an idea was born.
“It occurred to me that if the world is having a face mask shortage, I have a lot of space and tools to contribute to alleviating the shortage,” John says.
With that in mind, he quickly began selling face masks, and the response was overwhelming. As a result, he needed more people to sew to keep up with demand. John says he put the call out to all those with sewing skills, and in the process got connected to the local refugee community from Myanmar and Afghanistan through organizations such as Rightfully Sewn, Jewish Vocational Service, and Catholic Charities.
With his increased workforce, the company made, sold or donated over 35,000 masks. John quickly realized he found a large talent base, and their skills extended far beyond making face masks. In fact, they were highly skilled at making handbags and other accessories as well.
John says he based his original business on taking local materials and turning them into beautiful furniture art representing Kansas City. He wanted to take that same approach to handbags as well.
“It’s as if we have applied the farm-to-table concept to handbags,” John says.
He says the originality of the handbags is evident in the design of the stitchers and the locally sourced leather, wood and linen they use. The local tanneries they source for leather abide by safe environmental practices and use traditional techniques from the 19th century. They also offer a lifetime guarantee for all their products.
“We want this to be a celebration and representation of the local community,” John says.
He says not many companies operate under such a business model because it is costly and the supply chain is sometimes difficult, but he says the result is rewarding. His dream is to have a national imprint that represents Kansas City well.
“It begins with the stitcher, the artisan,” John says. “That’s what the company is built on—it’s a platform for their skills.”
He says he hopes to expand in the future and is currently partnering with Rightfully Sewn for more opportunities.
Overall, it’s been quite a business odyssey for John as someone who did not previously know anything about sewing.
“Change can be a good thing even though change effort is difficult,” John says. “Good things can result from an earnest change effort.”