Townsend is lucky to have such interesting, excited, and vocal customers. We are hearing all the time from satisfied designers. We are proud to play a part in the final successful projects. We don’t see as many photos, as we do compliments though, so it is always very exciting when we get to see images of the final projects.
The always wonderful and friendly Barbara at Zweig Decorating Ideas recently contacted us to let us know how pleased she was with her leather order. But then up-ed the compliment by sending along some photos and letting us see it for ourselves.
We have talked about pairing of leather and fabric a few times before Custom Leather & Reason 17 and this sofa by Zweig is worthy of continuing that conversation. The analogous color scheme of grays is brought to life with the variation of sheen and texture between Townsend’s Pearlized leather and the fabric.
Do you have photos of your projects? Your designs? Your use of leather? Let us know, send your photos and project info to info@townsendleather.com and you could featured on our website too!
One of our expert Cutting-Department-Partners recently displayed their own incredible talent and passion by winning a National Championship!
BJ Smith, Townsend Leather employee and motocross race expert, won the National Championship Title in Las Vegas earlier this year, and everyone at Townsend Leather is quite proud of his accomplishment.
BJ has been racing motocross for many years and has honed his craft here in upstate New York. He has traveled around the north east winning races and making fans, on his way to the AMSOIL National Arenacross Series East Coast Over 25 ProAm championship.
Johnstown area local newspaper, The Leader Herald, covered BJ’s story from beginning to end. You can see those articles here (If you are interested in some exciting Johnstown local news, and reading more about an interesting and skilled Townsend employee, please read these articles – they have a lot of great information about BJ and his racing):
BJ Smith of Townsend Leather is Vegas Bound
and
BJ Smith of Townsend Leather Wins National Championship
BJ had lots of friends and family supporting him along the way and many even came to see him race in person. A couple of caring Townsend partners even took up a secret fundraiser when news of his Vegas trip spread, and raised money to help fund his trip.
BJ has expressed tremendous thanks to everyone who has helped him and supported him.
“So many people helped me, I haven’t even been able to thank everyone, they couldn’t fit it all in the newspaper!”
He is quite deserving of that help and support, as he is so clearly passionate about his craft.
BJ is a relentlessly laid back person, taking everything in stride and keeping an incredible positive outlook on life. He is warm, friendly, and approachable, but he clearly can “turn it on” when needed with intense focus, and unbeatable dexterity.
BJ earned this win through years of hard work and determination, training, and practicing. He has an excellent team behind him, and with his craft and passion he is able to pull through and accomplish great things.
On behalf of everyone at Townsend Leather, we are extremely proud of you BJ and proud to have so many individuals, full of – unique expertise, commitment to craft, and dedication to passion, like you – on our Townsend Team. People like you and your exclusive abilities are what make Townsend such an incredible group of people and having the opportunity to grow, explore, and share those abilities is what makes Townsend such a great place.
Townsend Leather’s team has returned from a hugely successful time in Las Vegas for the HD Expo.
See the Sneak Peak here, HD & EBACE Sneak Peak
The time was spent meeting with customers and incredible designers, showing our new leathers, and picking up all the industry trends.
Townsend featured some brand new leathers and gave a sneak peak of some leathers that were newer then new! Our new Fifth Avenue Cowhide and Softina Cowhide quickly became designers new favorites and we will be sending out a staggering amount of samples for these in the coming days.
Townsend was also featured in the Hospitality Design magazine (shown at top) with their HD Expo edition. Giving a spotlight to our ever-popular Roger Thomas Faux Parchment leather.
“HD Expo Preview. PRODUCTS. ROGER THOMAS.
From ceramics to carpets, the various collections from Wynn Design and Development’s executive vice president of design will be displayed in the exhibit hall. The Faux Parchment Lambskin leather Thomas created with Townsend Leather invokes the look of genuine parchment with a soft feel, suitable for wallcovering or upholstery use. townsendleather.com”
And in the HD Expo daily news another new exciting Townsend Leather was featured, our Illusions.
“HD Expo Show Daily.
Townsend Leather’s new offering, Illusions, is inspired by geometric patterns and can be used on a variety of leather products, such as cowhide, lambskin, goatskin, or suede. Booth #1665″
Townsend’s booth was very busy with our Reps from all over the country stopping in, helping out, meeting with customers, answering questions and celebrating the new leathers. But it wasn’t just the new leathers that were a hit with this design-centric crowd, our Abstract Art, Fierce Fish, Galuchat, and All That Jazz were all crowd pleasers as well.
The booth was clean, sleek, and easy to navigate through, making it a great place to meet and talk leather.
It was all around a great show and Townsend is looking forward to next years already!
But that’s not all! Townsend is already right back at it, across the planet in Geneva Switzerland for the annual EBACE show.
The show has opened already to great success. Townsend is busy showing our new leathers there as well, but with a focus on our capabilities of understanding customers specific needs and industries.
With exciting new leathers, a modern sleek booth, and our aircraft industry expertise – this is sure to be a great show!
EBACE – Booth #3026 at EBACE May 20-22
Bombardier Unveils The Global 7000 Mock-up—the largest in Business Aviation
In late April of 2014, New York Capital Region’s premier news source, The Times Union, awarded 45 companies the honor of Top Work Place 2014.
Townsend Leather is proud and honored to have been selected as one of them.
Each year the Times Union explores the large Greater Capital District for worthy companies. Over 600 companies were looked at as potential Top Work Place honorees. Through detailed analysis of thousands of employee submitted surveys, The Times Union and Workforce Dynamics narrowed down the top employers in the region to just 45 companies.
Each of these 45 companies, were categorized into three size categories: Large (500+ employees), Mid-Sized (150-499 employees), and Small (35-149 employees).
Townsend Leather was selected as one of the top 15 Mid-Size companies.
A team of representatives from Townsend attend the exciting and beautiful award ceremony held shortly after the honorees were announced, on Thursday, April 24th at The Desmond Hotel in Albany. The awards were handed out amongst cheers and celebration, with each company honored by a personalized tribute and company biography, as well as handpicked “theme” songs for their award-retrieval-walk.
Townsend Leather’s team waited anxiously for their name to be announced and was elated when the moment came and proudly walked to the podium to the tune of the “Cheers Theme Song”/Everybody Knows Your Name! Everyone felt it was a fitting song, as everyone who works at Townsend feels like family, and the Townsend Leather name is known across the world. It feels great to spend every day at a place where “everybody knows your name” and truly cares about the job they do and the people they work alongside.
“There is a family atmosphere here and everyone works as a team towards the same goal. ” – Townsend Employee
Townsend Leather was not only recognized as a Top Work Place, but was in fact ranked as the Number 4 Mid-Size Work Place! A top 5 placer!
It is the Townsend employees, the Townsend community, the Townsend family that make Townsend what it is. All the employees at Townsend who come every day to share their skills and passions, push things forward, and do so with a smile on their face – this is what makes Townsend a great company and a Top Place to work. Townsend Leather was awarded this recognition for and by its employees. And it is truly the employees that have earned it because they are the people that ensure a positive and fulfilling work atmosphere. Townsend employees are some of the most passionate, hardest-working, and quality-driven people you will find anywhere. Their wholehearted and overwhelmingly positive responses to the survey questions on subjects such as the company’s vision & mission, its leadership, its sense of teamwork and community, and benefits resulted in making Townsend Leather recognized as a Top Work Place.
The Times Union stated: What stands out, once again, is that the 45 workplaces named to the list are not necessarily those that pay the most or are the most glamorous at which to work, but rather they are the places that value employee input, make people feel appreciated and foster a sense of connection — among their ranks and in the wider community.
Townsend was even singled out as a company that represented strong company ethics and values; as quoted in the Times Union:
This company operates by strong values and ethics. • Townsend Leather Co Inc
Townsend Leather Co. Inc.: “I work with great people who help each other without being asked. I love the fact that the people I work with genuinely care about my well-being.”
The morning after the award ceremony, Townsend kept the fun and celebration going with a company-wide breakfast. 
This is when most of the company first heard of the news and all joined in a celebratory cheer. And as we often do, we had customers visiting with us to tour our facility, we were excited to have them join in the fun and festivities. This short, but heartfelt celebration was a welcome break for everyone. And it was a well-deserved time to take a minute and reflect on the company that we have collectively created.
Townsend, since its inception, has been a beneficiary of charismatic, passionate, forward-thinking, incredible leaders. Terry Kucel and his wife Barbara laid the foundation of what Townsend is during its formative years, and their customer-focus and passion for quality is still the life blood that flows through Townsend today. They have successfully instilled those characteristics into the leaders of Townsend today, and President, Jared Eckler, spoke candidly with the company at our breakfast celebration about what this award means to him and can mean to all of us at Townsend.
This is an exclusive award. It is something to continually strive for. It is something the employees have direct influence on. It is something given only to the deserving. Townsend Leather can feel extremely proud to have the leadership it does, the recognition it does, and the employees it does.
We decided to show our pride by each taking turns signing our names to banners that will hang on our building, proclaiming our pride to everyone that drives to, or by, Townsend Leather.
Here are just a few of the great things Townsend’s proud partners said about Townsend Leather in their submitted surveys…
“I work with great people who help each other without being asked. I love the fact that the people I work with genuinely care about my well-being. ”
“It is a community within a community. The partners work as a family with common goal to deliver and service our customers while working in a good environment.”
“It is fun and exciting! ”
“It’s a family-owned company that truly makes every person feel as if they are part of their family. ”
“There is a family atmosphere here and everyone works as a team towards the same goal. ”
You can see the Times Union articles about the Top Work Places honor here:
And see some photos of the Award Ceremony evening here:
Or visit the Top Work Place website to see Townsend in the listing, Top Work Places
Townsend Leather once again celebrated our love of the earth!
We had to work around some inclement weather and very busy schedules, so it was just a bit late, but we once again celebrated our annual Earth Day – Townsend Clean-Up Event.
This was the fourth year in a row that we have gathered as a team to beautify our property and the surrounding community.
Townsend Leather celebrates Earth Week 2013
A team of like-minded, team working, community focused, Earth lovin’ folks from all parts of Townsend got together earlier this week to share some food and good conversation. We all put on some gloves, grabbed some trash bags and spread out all over the 4 sprawling buildings of Townsend Leather, and beyond; picking up all the trash and recyclables, and even cigarette butts! that we could find. Townsend has teamed up with a fantastic company, not too far from us in New Jersey, called TerraCycle, where we are able to actually recycle cigarette butts!
The event was a tremendous success. Everyone got involved and worked hard. We gathered pounds and pounds of trash from around the area and along the road, and walked away feeling good about a small step toward a positive environmental impact.
Every time Townsend is able to hold an event outside on the Townsend campus, it is truly a delight. It is always so satisfying to take a minute, slow down, and really take in the beauty of the area we work in. Spring is still struggling a bit to get to upstate New York, but with the clean fresh air, the shimmering pond, the bright blue of the sky you can’t help but swell with pride at the beauty of nature and that we get to come and spend every day surrounded by it. It makes getting your hands dirty, bending over digging through driveways, collecting trash feel easy and enjoyable when you get to do it in a place like this.
A truly fantastic company with truly fantastic people, each passionate about life and making things even better.
Looking forward to next year’s event already!
There is nothing quite like the statement made by a beautiful Hair-On hide.
Townsend offers a variety of hair-on options, and we felt it was time to give this stunning beauty a spotlight of it’s own.
Hair-On hides bring a sense of warmth and unique beauty to any space. They have the uncommon characteristic of being able to directly reference natural beauty, but also incorporate man-made colors and designs.
Townsend’s most popular hair-on product, our Toro Hair-On Cowhide, is aniline dyed in Italy and is soft and versatile, having been used on floors, pillows, footstools and chairs. Your hand can’t help but be drawn to the luxurious feel and calming effect of hair-on hides.
Pearson used Townsend’s custom Hair-On hides to great effect in their 2012 Hampton Designer Showhouse. The color scheme was chosen to pop and draw your eyes in, which was accomplished with bright red hair-on hides. Along with the contrast in textures, the pieces designed with Townsend’s hair-on really pulled everything together. You can see the full post on the Quintessence Blog.
Hair-On hides are natural and each comes with its own unique characteristics. Each one more beautiful than the next. Below is a random sampling of just some of the hair-on leathers Townsend can provide.
Contact us at info@townsendleather.com for more information on Hair-On hides or to request samples. Since hair-on hides are natural, please be aware size, color, and availability will vary contact us to find solutions to any of your hair-on needs.
Architecture & Design, Aviation Interiors, Lifestyle
Townsend Leather’s team has returned from a hugely successful time in Las Vegas for the HD Expo. See the Sneak Peak here, HD & EBACE Sneak Peak The time was spent meeting with customers… Full Aritcle
