Townsend Leather on YouTube
TOWNSEND LEATHER HAS A YOUTUBE CHANNEL! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSf18bi-XfRyDU7cJjiR1aw/ or use the easy to type/remember short link(“bit dot l y slash TL VIDS”): bit.ly/TLVIDS… Full Aritcle
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TOWNSEND LEATHER HAS A YOUTUBE CHANNEL!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSf18bi-XfRyDU7cJjiR1aw/
or use the easy to type/remember short link(“bit dot l y slash TL VIDS”):
If you want to see some previous scenes of Townsend on the big little screen, check out the wealth of links below:
https://youtu.be/7DgrpiT7q8Y – 2018 Year in Blurview (slideshow)
https://youtu.be/0A2bBu_hHaw – Townsend’s quilting capability!
https://youtu.be/ctKfcds0lT0 – Conversation with Kevin Kucel about Townsend history for the Longevity Luncheon
https://youtu.be/QFMduivVvik – In-Stock Program
https://youtu.be/rKx3c4yoMpU – Crafting A Color
https://youtu.be/Bef-0PWSm84 – Namaste Collection Production
https://youtu.be/q8Pl6hujwDs – Gaufrage Zen
https://youtu.be/kZME8VfG6Jg – Captivating Crossroads Embossing and Tipping
https://youtu.be/u5OCvnLdjMs – Who What Where Guys – these guys are the best
https://youtu.be/Rdl4XCIRtjE – 2017 in Blurview (slideshow)
https://youtu.be/kPdaDy9fL3s – 2017 Health + Wellness Fair (slideshow)
https://youtu.be/MZi10NL_HKw – Monica Sun Salutation Instructional
https://youtu.be/GKZTx93XFG4 – TownZend Yoga Full Story
https://youtu.be/2-eu7P1Do6U – Townsend Product Photos (slideshow)
https://youtu.be/69BXi1YHzQI – 2017 New Balance Team Visit (slideshow)
https://youtu.be/P1aHhjcBi6s – Floor Sweeper Beatdown 2015 (explicit lyrics)
https://youtu.be/K0J6A7XyZ0c – 2017 Townsend Mannequin Challenge
https://youtu.be/CKyckHv3p8A – Stacy Garcia Hand Tipping
https://youtu.be/mWPRVfCmtSE – Tile Edging Instructional 2015
https://youtu.be/DFjNRNbhwfo – 2012 NBAA, video of customers holding leather mustaches in our booth
https://youtu.be/ebrrJnMvu9U – Cutting Program Intro 2012
https://youtu.be/pW96RuKvo1w – 3M Scotchgard Introduction (very old)
https://youtu.be/t_D3zaq5bjU?t=59s – AD which shows Townsend Leather on the seats
https://youtu.be/Nn993VWiFrM – Constant Aviation ad video showing some Townsend leather
https://youtu.be/IiFTE9pEKWs – Introduction to Townsend Leather 2012
Once again, Townsend took time this Earth Day to beautify the Townsend campus and all the surrounding areas. One of the exciting things for Townsend’s near future is our growth into an additional building, lovingly called “The Stitch”. This building is just a short walk from our current home base and we can get there through a restored and carefully maintained trail, The Rail Trail.
We took some time as a group to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors and then got to work cleaning everything in sight. Spread across many areas in many directions, some cleaned up the greenery around Townsend, some took the walk to The Stitch and cleaned along the way.
Earth Day, can be a time for big actions and hearty moments of change. But it can also be a day to breathe, and look, smell, feel, listen… to truly and deeply appreciate the glory of nature, the beauty of our earth and the beauty of the area right frickin here – where we work! We loved getting outside, enjoying the beautiful Townsend campus, and enjoying our great mother earth.
Earth day is always a meaningful day for us and is an important part of the Townsend way.
Townsend’s Environmental Statement
We had an absolute delight in spending time with the future. Townsend participated in Bring Your Child To Work Day and loved having lots of littles (and mediums and bigs) around.
It was heartwarming to see so many Parents proudly showing off what they do all day to their bright-eyed and excited children. And seeing them connect with their kids over the craft, team, and fun that is created at Townsend every day.
We were able to take a big group tour, handing out lots of scrap leather, seeing awesomeness in action, and even enjoying some ice cream all together as a family team.
These moments of connection – these special and unique moments of connection – connection to family, to work-life, to creating… are moments that express the true joy of being a Townsend Leather Partner.
We loved having young minds in the building, observing, learning, asking. Having a moment to share our sense of team, or focus on fun, and our passion for craft – is always a delight, but especially when it builds a connection to the future.
We love being able to have our hardworking Partners share with their children, and the future workforce, a sense of Townsend’s teamwork, focus on fun, and our passion for handcrafted leather making. Many of them were natural color creators and even tried their hand at tipping, a skill that takes years to perfect!
Being able to experience the joy they brought is just another reason Townsend is one of the Best Places to Work.
Thank you to all the engaged, eager, and super-fun children that visited Townsend today and thank you to all the impressive ever-awesome Parents/Partners that hosted them!
Also, a bonus set of photos… we have many many families at Townsend – we have Parents that “bring their child to work” every day by working side by side with them at Townsend, we even have many pairings that consider themselves “work moms” or “work dads” to some Partners. One of those pairings is a Townsend favorite ‘goof-ball comedy duos’, Tommy and Kevin. Shown here in a short photo series of Daddy Kevin becoming increasingly exasperated at lil Tommy, always getting into mischief… Ohhh TomMYYY!
We loooove color, we love spotting trends, we love crafting trends, we love any reason to delve into and explore a color scheme and so we are always eagerly awaiting Pantone’s annual Color of The Year announcement. It gives us a chance to play and design and develop.
Pantone chose a standout color as their choice for the year, a world unto itself, conjuring images of the sea and life and bright unknowns, LIVING CORAL, https://www.pantone.com/color-intelligence/color-of-the-year/color-of-the-year-2019
We are excited to showcase some of our beautiful leathers, just in time for Spring, that embodies this coral hue with its golden undertone.
In our everyday busy lives, we seek for the calmness and soft edge that this color brings, but with the vibrancy and energy that encourages us to live with optimism and for joyful experiences. We have selected some of our vibrant and saturated leathers that showcase this beautiful color. Shown below with a couple of coordinating beauties.
Contact us at info@townsendleather.com for your own luxurious, vibrant, calming sample set and see one of these inspired masterpieces with your own eyes and hands.
Or click through our sample lightbox to take a closer look at some Living Coral inspired leathers:
Townsend Leather is a Women In Business Focused company and we are proud to celebrate the equal balancing, smart and innovative, change efforts being focused on this year, on International Women’s Day.
“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made… It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Townsend is fundamentally built on challenging the status quo, always looking – instead of what is easy and done before, to what is best for our customers and what is best for our people – even if that means working harder to get there. We take the challenges of pushing the boundaries of leather, production, and culture seriously. We are heartfelt intent on balance, growth, and innovation for all, especially those that face marginalization and unfair barriers.
So, this International Women’s Day we celebrate our focus on Women In Business.
A critical element of Townsend Leather’s success, is it’s focus on putting decision making power in the hands of all. The small randomly selected Townsend Leather Partners shown in the photos above, as well as all Townsend Leather Partners are instilled with a sense of responsibility and direction-influencing power. Every team, club, or task-force at Townsend includes women voices, because as the Notorious RBG has said, women belong at the decision – not just impacted by it.
Our President, Jared Eckler, kicked off our International Women’s Day focus with a series of Facebook photos and posts, celebrating some of the women of Townsend:
But, for us, International Women’s Day is not a casual holiday, it points to a fundamental idea of Townsend Leather and is something we will be building on each day. This is a an ongoing story for us, so check back to see the actions we take and the way we build it, together.
We will be featuring stories of inspiring Townsend women over the coming months. But we want to hear from you too, share the story of the women who have inspired you with us:
Inspiring Women Stories
Collecting your stories of inspiring women
Established in 1969, Townsend Leather is bursting with excitement and pride at celebrating 50 years of leather crafting. 2019 is a momentous year for us, as we look back over 50 years of experience, stories, and history of leather and all the hands that have built Townsend Leather to what it is today and what it will be tomorrow.
We are putting a focus this year on “stitching together our past, our future, our history, & our dreams,” as we look back on 50 years of leather greatness and look forward to a adding a new building, new capabilities, and as always, building on our endless pursuit of growth and learning.
Stitching Together Our Past & Our Future:
Townsend Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary!!
In 2019, we celebrate our 50th Anniversary as a company. Throughout the year, we will take time to look back at and honor our roots and those from the past who helped us define our company and culture, as well as celebrate our evolution and our team today, and the beautiful product lines of leather and related capabilities that are paving the way for an even more exciting future for us and our customers and suppliers. We have a new building we are expanding into this year that we have nicknamed “The Stitch,” more beautiful products, offerings and services than ever, and an amazingly talented and dedicated team of creative people, inside and outside of our company that we are excited to work with in the goal of collaborating on stunning and innovative interiors using leather. We like the idea of “stitching” because besides it being what our customers do when they sew our leathers into gorgeous upholstered pieces, it reminds us how our work together to achieve something greater than the sum of its parts is what we do each day with such pride.
Thank you to all of you for the part you have played in our 50 years. Whether you are a customer, a supplier or vendor, or a Townsend Partner or representative, you have helped make us the company we are today and we appreciate you on our Golden Anniversary more than ever.
– The Townsend Leather Family
Our gift to Townsend Partners, fans, friends, family, and customers this year is what we are calling our “Designer Toolkit Card Pack”. 50 postcard-sized “tools”, in honor of our 50th year, bundled together for use throughout the year and beyond. Packs of these cards are currently being spread across the world from our Johnstown, NY headquarters, but if you want to be sure you get your hands on one, contact us at info@townsendleather.com to request your very own “Designer Toolkit”.
The toolkit comes complete with note pages and calendar cards, things to keep you in-the-know and organized, and some fun bits too.
The toolkit even includes an opportunity to fold a friend…
Your folded bovine buddy can even become a holder, a shelf, a mini-desk for you… she happily holds your favorite things for you.
We have been receiving photos from crafty friend-folders all over the world, make sure you share yours with us too! info@townsendleather.com,
www.instagram.com/townsendleather/,
www.facebook.com/TownsendLeatherCompany/
You can even get a little crazy... making your own postcard to drop off to your crush, falling in love with leather, warming hearts and tummies by gifting out a hot cup of coffee (coffee is a hug in a mug!), or even grab the spinner card and setup your own game of “spin the bottle leather card!”
The “Action Answer Aid” toolkit card was even used for a MARRIAGE PROPOSAL between two Townsend Leather Partners!
She said YES!
At Townsend leather, we passionately believe in the power of connection and meaningful relationships within the company, across the company, and outside the company.
We are proud to have been recognized as both a “Best Place To Work” and the “Top Workplace” in the Capital Region for 2018. Those accolades only come because of the people we are, the way we support and care for each other, and the way we inspire each other. We care about what we do, who we do it with, and who we do it for.
We are always looking forward to your stories, your photos, your questions – anyway you want to connect with us – we’d love for you to do it. info@townsendleather.com
Also, take note, one card in the pack offers instructions of a *secret* way to get an additional sky-focused gift from us ;)
Along with Townsend Leather, a few other exciting things are celebrating a 50th Anniversary this year. Just as Townsend Leather was getting started, the world was also celebrating the monumental Moon Landing event, the introduction of Scooby-Doo, and the invention of Fla-vor-ice!
And just a couple-hour drive from Townsend Leather’s home in Johnstown, NY, hundreds of thousands of people gathered to be part of the most historic concert in US history, Woodstock.
The website, Mental Floss, has a very nice recap of 50 things celebrating a 50th anniversary, along with Townsend Leather this year, here: mentalfloss.com/50-things-turning-50-2019
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Hi Partners,
With 40 new Townsend Leather Partners, friends, and family members joining our leather-magic-crafting team in 2018, I was pleased to see that my fear of losing the intimate, tight knit, family feel, and strong team-based culture as we passed 150, was unfounded. Quite the opposite, I feel – when people, heart, connection, and team are at the front of our values and culture, it’s actually the reason we can grow successfully and sustainably. We not only maintain this feeling of togetherness on one mission to provide the most lovable leather in the world while having fun, we are building on it!
2018 was a year full of stories, with one of the biggest being how busy we all were! As we enter our milestone 50th year in business in 2019, I’m proud to say our 49th year was one of our very best in sales, won by hard fought, amazing efforts by all of our 170 Partners!!
We are so excited for our expansion in 2019 to “The Stitch” on Grove Street and for much future success in our 50th and beyond!! Thank you to all of our passionate and perseverant partners in and out of the company, to our customers, and suppliers – I’m so proud of and thankful for all your dedication, efforts, and partnership!!
The late beloved Stan Lee of Marvel fame defined his signature sign-off as meaning “onward and upward to greater glory!” In honor of his memory and as one of the best story writers and tellers ever, I’d like to sign off with it – “Excelsior!”
Daring Greatly,
Jared
Throughout the celebratory year of 2019, you can expect to see even more stories and shared moments of stitched together ideas, reflections on history, foresight of our goal-future, and so much more. If you have Townsend stories from bygone years, or ideas of for our leathery future, or just want to connect, please do so – we would love to hear from you!
info@townsendleather.com
Join the conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TownsendLeatherCompany/
Follow along on Twitter: twitter.com/TownsendLeather
and See all the beauty on Instagram: www.instagram.com/townsendleather/
On January 31st 2018, myself (Danielle I., pictured above)and 4 other Partners were chosen to go to a Ted Talk that was being held at FMCC. Some speakers at this Ted Talk spoke of the work that they had done revitalizing their own communities. Others spoke of what they had done to reach out to communities outside of their own. Hearing the perspective and advice from the speakers really sparked the flame inside of me to figure out how myself and Townsend could help also. I have always had a passion for helping others and often wondered what I could do to help the area that I grew up in and felt passionate about. It was not until I had begun my career at Townsend Leather that I had found a place that was incredibly willing to lend a helping hand.
We brought these ideas back to Townsend with us and at the next Ted Talk we explained some ideas that were mentioned at FMCC. A lot of talk began internally at Townsend and so many Partners were excited to get involved with bettering our community. Through talking with our seasoned vets here at Townsend, I found out that 22 years ago, Terry Kucel, along with our Partners, had donated a park to Johnstown. Partners Park was born in 1996. I was the ripe age of 8 years old at that time! When I found out that Townsend had already donated a beautiful park, I was firstly honored to work for such a caring company but second, I was curious to know if this park needed a little love!
Terry Kucel, Sarah Eckler and myself took a drive to the Park one afternoon and noticed that Partners Park did in fact need of some love from our Partners. Once we spread the word of the park, our Partners were excited to hear that we would be doing some cleaning, planting and construction to help revive it again. I had mentioned the park idea to a Partner that had helped bring Partners Park to life 22 years ago, and they were so excited to help this time around as well. That really warmed my heart. I loved seeing his face light up with joy knowing he would have another opportunity to help!
On April 26, 2018 about 20 Partners and myself began phase 1 of the Partners Park Clean Up! Though the weather was still slightly chilly, we put on our hats and gloves and got to work. The 1st phase was cleaning up leaves, garbage and debris from the park. It was amazing to see everyone together, working towards a noble cause. We had a nice lunch in the Park after wards and spoke about what is to come next.
Did you know?
Townsend Leather Partners donated their time to improve and restore a park located in Johnstown, NY almost 22 years ago (in 1996 to be exact).
I wanted to give a huge shout-out to all of our teammates who donated their lunch hour(s) and lots of hard work all for the good of Partners Park. We have some very special Partners who are selfless. I appreciate everyone who gave up their time to lend a helping hand. I am honored to work with you all.
A special thanks to Terry and Townsend for the support throughout this process. It is an amazing feeling to know that we work for a company that cares so deeply about giving back and helping.
Thank you, Townsend and Partners, for making this happen!
