Craftmanship Lives On At Sturbridge Leather Shop
Photo/Amanda Roberge
HIGHLY SKILLED: Herbert Pelkey says he's not a businessman, even though he's run his leather business, The Moccasin Shop, in Sturbridge since the 1980s.
Herbert Pelkey works six days a week, the same schedule he has kept since opening The Moccasin Shop in the early 1980s after a long and unusual career in the shoe factories of Aroostook County, Maine.
The overwhelmingly wonderful smell of leather that greets him upon arrival dissipates quickly, he says, and furthermore he can’t understand why people are so enamored of his workbench that they often ask to take a picture – so accustomed is he to the sights and smells of his vocation.
But it’s a unique sight, indeed, with the jars of grommets, foot vices and overflowing shelves of dyes and varnishes and paintbrushes.
This is not to mention the sheaths of leather hanging from every corner of the store, which is nestled quietly in Sturbridge’s Millyard Marketplace — a restored mill building with enough charm to match Pelkey’s.
“I guess I am a dinosaur,” he admits. “For what I do, there are so few of us left.”
Spreading The Word
Possibly the biggest business snafu for Pelkey has to do with his moccasins being so well made that a single pair can last nearly forever. But once those moccasins — designed, cut, dyed and sewed with affectionate attention to detail by Pelkey alone — are slipped onto a new pair of feet, a loyal customer is born. And though they may never need another pair, they will certainly be calling The Moccasin Shop when they need a belt, a wallet or even a small repair.
And what’s more, said Pelkey, is that when a tourist comes in and buys a pair of moccasins before returning home to their native state, Pelkey can almost set his watch to the ringing of the phone as calls start coming in from that guy’s brother-in-law, friend or father.
Because of this predictable word of mouth chain, he has shipped moccasins to every state in the United States and to nearly every country in the world.
“My repeat customers are what keep me in business,” said Pelkey, who has really never advertised. “I haven’t done it because I haven’t had to.”
Nor has he had to hire too much help over the years, relying almost exclusively on himself.
During a business boom in the 80s, he had need for one extra set of hands, but these days he keeps things under control with the help of his wife Linda.
At 78, Pelkey has no plans to retire, though he is content these days to just make ends meet with no delusions of grandeur for his business.
Instead, he sees his shop as a way to stay involved in his community, fund his early-morning golf games and offer a service to the world that may soon become extinct.
“Having this shop gives me a place to work where I can wear my own clothes,” he smiles, maintaining that he is not a businessman — just a guy putting in an honest day’s work. “This isn’t a business — it’s a job, and it’s paid me a living for a good many years.”
One of the biggest joys in Pelkey’s day-to-day life is when an unexpected sort of customer walks through his door.
Always up for a challenge, he has helped people solve unusual problems with his keen understanding of leather — and a heaping dose of sheer ingenuity.
He can spin a few tales of specialized shoes that needed crafting and exceptionally long belts that needed to be created. These jobs, he says, are often done for little to nothing but they bring him the greatest pleasure.
“I can repair just about anything,” he said, tightening the strings on his black leather apron and getting ready to go back to the peaceful monotony of his trade. “I like doing stuff like that.”
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