Bill & Lauri Keitel’s Journey
We’re so excited to tell you some news that we’ve been sitting on for a while, regarding the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. But before we get to that, we first want to give you a bit of history!
Bill and Lauri Keitel, owners of the Buffalo Billfold Company, started making leather goods in 1972. They rented a small space in the basement of the Citizens National Bank building with the goal of bringing high quality handmade leather goods to their community. They loved working with their hands and being creative, and to this day they still do. They hand tooled belts, purses, wallets, and continued to gain the support of their small southwestern community in Worthington, Minnesota. Eventually they expanded their leather goods (and small gift) business to encompass the whole space of the building they occupied. Over time, they have stayed true to employing people from their local community, growing the leather trade, and continuing to grow their craft.
A half century after they started, the Buffalo Billfold Company still takes pride in saying that from Prairie to Product, the American Bison leather goods we make are still 100% Made in USA. And we’re happy that many of you have noticed! Customers who review our products love the quality our our leather goods. National Parks across the USA and many other retail businesses also choose to carry our Bison leather goods. Our goal is to keep providing high quality durable leather goods to those who choose to use them.
Across the USA
We all make leather goods year round, but over the past 2 decades Bill and Lauri have brought these leather goods to juried art fairs and festivals across the USA. They’ve developed relationships with many ranchers in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Colorado, and other parts of southern USA. On their travels they’ve visited many landmarks like Mt Rushmore, as well as places out east like the Museum of the American Indian and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington DC. The Smithsonian Museums have always been a highlight for Bill and Lauri as they’ve always been interested in Natural History and American History.
Bill and Lauri’s son Noah has been managing Buffalo Billfold Company’s website, online marketing, IT, and providing some strategically timed help at the shop for over a decade now. Part of his job has been managing the incoming requests from other businesses who wish to sell Buffalo Billfold Company leather goods at their own retail shops. We typically get requests from retail shops and national parks, so when an email from the Smithsonian Institution showed up in our inbox, we all did a double take!
Smithsonian Institution
We received an email from the Smithsonian Institution wanting to learn more about the Buffalo Billfold Company. Interested to learn more, we set up a meeting. They were planning to launch a section in their gift shop called “Handcrafted in America.” They wanted to showcase handmade, high quality, American made items. And after a couple meetings, it was clear they wanted Buffalo Billfold Company leather goods to be featured in this new section at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History! We could hardly believe it! Does this mean we’ve “made it!?” We have never strived to bring in large revenues but rather to be true to ourselves, our craft, and our customers. We consider ourselves leather artisans, and with a bit of self reflection, we think the answer is yes! We are absolutely humbled and thrilled to be recognized for our leather work and to our commitment to providing quality handmade products for over half a century.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History
After a whole lot of quiet internal excitement, we are THRILLED to announce that you can now find our handmade American Bison Leather Goods at the National Museum of American History gift shop, located on the National Mall in Washington, DC!
Bison Leather Goods
You might be wondering which of our American Bison leather goods you’ll find while you’re in Washington, DC at the Museum of American History gift shop. The short answer is, we can’t be exactly sure as they have many visitors looking at our leather goods. While we don’t have an exact count of what they will have in stock, you may find things like leather wallets, purses, coin cases, card cases, checkbook covers and more. And before you go, we’d encourage you to check out the list of exhibitions and find some hours to visit. A trip to the Smithsonian Museums is one of those things you’ve just gotta do at some point because they are amazing!
What do you remember?
We’d love to hear from you about your experiences with us and our products over the years. Share your memories on how you first discovered Buffalo Billfold Company (or as we were known back in the day: The Cows’ Outside). Comment bellow – click/share this post!
