.jpg)
Authorized Dealer
Long ago and far away, in the cool
warmth of the Nova Scotia highlands, midst bag pipes and wild
strawberries, at a time when long-haired hippies roamed free, there came
from out of the west a tall, straight-arrow of a man, short-haired and
shiny suited. Equipped with leather-working tools worth $200.00
(Canadian) won in a bet or in payment of a debt (archival documents are
smudged and vague on this), he sought to make his fortune.
Dennis was his name; Levy they called him, as he had also taken his
father's surname, which was the custom. It had been many years since he
had visited Antigonish, for this was the name of that little,
Canadian-highland town where the story begins. As a young boy, he spent
summer vacations working his mother's ancestral farm in nearby Lower
South River. Now he had returned full of wide-eyed enthusiasm to work
once more, this time for himself.
(Left inset: Dennis Levy, The farm, circa 1951)
Nestled
between the tavern and the health food store, across the street from
the bowling alley, and very handy to the taxi stand, appeared Levy's
Handcrafts Limited, for such did Dennis name his business in those early
days, selling leather goods to all and sundry. It was 1973.
Those
were heady times. A time when it was politically correct, nay even
mandatory, for the elite of the counter-culture to be festooned in
leather adornments: leather belts, leather barrettes, floppy leather
hats, wide leather watchbands, leather pouches and purses, and candles.
Did I say candles? Yes candles. All produced by Levy's.
 But
times change and things happen, and when they did, so did Levy's.
Today, Levy's Leathers Limited employs 200 people, in two
state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and
Winnipeg, Manitoba, making guitar straps. Lots of guitar straps. Over
365 kinds of guitar straps, to be exact. Levy's also makes super gig
bags for guitars and a variety of other instruments.
(Right inset: Levy's Leathers, Angus MacQuarrie Drive, Antagonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
Watercolour by Janice Watson)
If
you're not a musician, perhaps you are a sportsman. We also manufacture
gun slings, gun cases, cartridge belts, and knife sheathes. Do you have
a car? We probably made the key tag your dealership gave when you
bought it. Talk about niche markets - they're our business!
Levy's
leather products reach world-wide markets through distributors in over
fifty countries, in addition to our Canadian and US dealer-direct
distribution systems.
Getting from watchbands to guitar straps
had more twists and turns than your average clairvoyant could
anticipate, but our mission was to create a profitable company, and here
we are! Our success is due to adherence to two principles: hard work
and an unwavering respect for the customer.
Mom always said,
"That Dennis, he's a hard worker."Well he's not the only one. If you
had ever worked for Levy's you would know how to work; it's the first
thing employees are taught.
You also learn the extreme importance
of customers. Without customers there's nothing to do. Adherence to
these principles has resulted in an active customer base of over 5000
accounts, buying products they are proud to sell, made by people I am
proud to be associated with.
Two hundred of us are working
together to make sure that if you need guitar straps in Hong Kong by
Friday, or gun slings in Peoria by Tuesday next, we'll jump through the
necessary hoops and dance the dance that's required to make sure they
get there.
So that's our story, and you can take it from me
'cause I should know it. I'm Dennis' big brother. I've been to the
farm, sold the watchbands, worn the floppy hat, and I still have one of
the candles... somewhere.
|
|
|
