Bearded Barley Leather Opens Downtown Ellicottville

Local

Sep 30

Everyone knows that a good piece of leather gets better with age. With the soft opening of Bearded Barley Leather in downtown Ellicottville at 22 Monroe Street, customers can now source handmade leather goods directly from local artisans. EllicottvilleNOW spoke with store owner Ryan Niemann about what to expect from the brand’s first brick and mortar operation.

“My partner [John Crandall] had been working with leather for a long time and we decided going into a store would be great, especially in Ellicottville,” said Niemann. “Almost all of our leather is sourced - about 90% of it - from a tannery in Italy and it is all sustainable, ethical, and environmentally friendly. It is food industry waste that would normally go into a landfill and create pollution that the tannery then takes, and they use all natural tannins and dyes called vegetable tan, so there are no pollutants, no chemicals in the tanning process,” Niemann explained. “So, we get that and try to make some beautiful things.”

With a background in clothing retail, Niemann got into the leather business four years ago when he moved to Ellicottville from Tennessee and explained that his partner already had twelve years of experience working with the material. Prior to the store opening, Niemann and Crandall would showcase their leather goods at festivals and local artisan markets. At the time of this interview, the partners were driving back to Ellicottville after attending the Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival.

“When it comes to the store - which is really what we’ve always wanted - we also highlight a couple other local artists,” he added. Two such artisans include Wanakah Brand Goods, a leather goods producer out of Buffalo, as well as Woodland Signatures, a sterling silver jewelry maker out of Olean.

As for the Bearded Barley-made goods, Niemann explained that visitors can expect some of his top sellers, like the classic large tote bag and wallets. “We do sell a lot of totes and I happen to think that they’re one of the most beautiful things that we have, but we also sell a lot of wallets,” he shared.

Other items include Italian leather bound flasks, key chains, passport holders, coozies, book covers, and more. Customization of colors is available for certain items whenever possible, Niemann explained. Wallet monograming is also available as a custom order. Customers can choose a style from inventory and then the monogramming thread color for a more personalized experience.

“We also have the ability to emboss initials into items and we are working on getting a laser engraver to be able to customize things a little more,” Niemann added. “We’ve done a lot of grooms’ gifts in the past.”

The store is currently in its soft opening phase in order to “get the kinks out and allow for the other artists to set up within the space,” explained Niemann. “We are open seven days a week now, but our official opening will be Fall Fest weekend.”

As for the name, Niemann shared that it is an association between the ancient grain and the ancient leather making techniques. “Bearded barley is an ancient grain, and the leather working techniques that we use - and Wanakah Brand Goods uses - they are ancient techniques, so just the fact that leather is very natural, and barley could not be more natural as a grain,” he continued. “Barley looks beautiful when it is blowing in the wind at full growth, and leather is beautiful.”

Bearded Barley Leather is open for business seven days a week. Hours of operation are 10:00am-6:00pm Sunday through Thursday, and 10:00am-8:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Visit the website at www.beardedbarleyleather.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram for the latest drops and events. Shipping is available as well as customization and special orders. To reach the store, call 716-474-1045 or email Ryan at beardedbarleyshop@gmail.com. Stay tuned for the store’s Grand Opening celebration during Fall Fest Weekend.