Driving Our Economy Forward: Fox and Forest Leather

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — They make leather goods that wear in, not out.

And the folks with Fox & Forest Leather make their products right here in the Scenic City.

Let’s see how they’re driving our economy forward.

“I never thought I was going to be trying to start a business of any kind,” said Chris Holmes, Co-owner/Co-creator. “I don’t think either of us thought that. But one thing that we both knew about each other was we really like to work with our hands. We both had more of an art style and artistic side to us. When you look for what you want to do every day, what can I spend my time doing every day? What puts me in a natural state of flow? Where do I find fulfillment? It was just sitting and working on projects with our hands. I started doing this first, made a couple of bags, and I immediately told Melina, ‘You have got to do this with me. This is super fun.'”

“We started just by making gifts for our family,” Melina Dolato-Holmes, Co-owner/Co-creator. “We were like, ‘Here’s a nice leather bag that we’ve made for you.’ And they went over so well, that family, by word of mouth, passing off to other people, like, oh, no, we have a niece or daughter who’s made this. And so then we started getting orders from other people. We use both buffalo hides and cowhides. People actually really like what we’re making. They like it. They want some for themselves. And so it grew from there into more of a business, rather than just making for friends and family.”

“Once she started, and I could tell that she was just as invested as I was, then it was like, well, and it comes with its own stress, too. But I think that we both would agree that it was kind of the natural progression for us to move into something that was tangible that we can make with our hands,” Chris Holmes said.

“We make a variety, a range of products, from wallets to totes belts. Anything that you use daily, we have just about in leather,” Melina Dolato-Holmes said. “Some of our best sellers right now are fanny packs. We call them the dogwood packs. Most of our products are cowhide, but we do have some buffalo that we really fell in love with. And basically, we want to create eight products that will wear in, not out, that will last you a lifetime. The kind of thing that you pass down to your grandkids of, like, I had this handmade leather bag from Chattanooga, Tennessee, that you get to then pass on.”