This year Harris Leather and Silverworks celebrated their 25th year at the Congress. When GoHorseShow visited them in Congress Hall, their booth was packed full of shoppers looking for all types of items including saddles, bridles, buckles, boots, spurs and Harris logo clothes. The entire Harris family was there to answer questions and help anyone that walked through the door. With their personal attention to detail and a warm smile for everyone, it is not surprising that they are considered one of the very best in our industry.
It is also not surprising that Harris Leather and Silverworks was started by a woman. As I am sure you have heard the quote, “Behind every successful man, there is a strong, wise and hardworking woman.” For the Harris Family that happened to be matriarch, Mabelene Harris. Mabelene and her husband, Ralph, started the business at their kitchen table making leather tooling, belts, purses and wallets.
“We started off doing the work for ourselves and then other people started asking us about our leatherwork, and, then, it slowly turned into a business that started catering to other people and mainly the western pleasure crowd,” Mabelene told us.
Today, it’s still a family affair with several family members running the business. Mabelene and Ralph started the business but with the help of their sons, Phil and Eddie, they have turned it into the most respected saddle company in the business. Phil and Eddie’s children, Mary-Gwyn, Preston, and Stanton also help with day-to-day operations. With constant innovations and unique designs, the company is always at the forefront of changing the trends in the industry.
When GoHorseShow stopped by their booth at the Congress, Phil and his wife Phyllis showed us some of their new innovations–from new adjustable fenders (pictured below right), the use of black ostrich, skirt cutouts, fender cutouts (pictured left), rigging plates with names, stainless steel spur rowels around conchos and corner plates, black ostrich behind logos on headstalls, etc, Harris has developed ingenious ideas, designs and syles that others tend to copy and pass off as their own.
Phil told GoHorseShow in Congress Hall that this event is their busiest show of the year and they love getting the chance to see all of their customers face-to-face from all over the world gathered in one place.
“It takes months and months of preparation to get ready for the Congress. We have a lot of custom ordered saddles as well as we bring several saddles ready-made to the show,” Phil explains. “All of us are worn out before we even get here. Then, everyone is in my face every minute of the day but I love it. This is my 25th year at the Congress so I definitely know what to expect. We also take a lot of orders for Christmas presents and by the end of the show we don’t have much inventory left, that’s why we don’t go to the AQHA World Show.”
Phil Harris designs the saddles while his brother, Eddie, is the silversmith and engraver. Eddie (pictured left with his daughter, Mary-Gwyn) told us that he is mostly self taught and loves working with silver due to being able to work with his hands.
“I don’t ever look at other styles or designs because it pollutes my creativity,” Eddie told us at Congress. “My own styles and methods are reflected throughout all our products. I also would like to give credit to our customers who have come up with extraordinary ideas and some of those requests have been some of my favorites designs.”
Eddie is also known for his gorgeous trophy buckles and has designed buckles for country music star Kenny Chesney and NASCAR’s Richard Petty. He also does all the buckles for the Breeder’s Halter Futurity and other shows and organizations for their year-end awards.
We asked Phil why he thinks his company has been so successful over the years. “We treat everyone like family and it is usually a family member that answers the phone at our shop. We also have the ability to produce a unique product and we are in the business of pleasing people. Money is a byproduct of what we do but the most important priority for me is for people to be happy with what they buy and enjoy the experience.”
Photos © Kurt Clark
