An artisan’s dream: Duvall Leatherwork expands

HANOVER TWP. — Self-taught leather artisan Nick Duvall Thursday showed off his company’s new location — Duvall Leatherwork — that he grew from the basement of his parents’ home and is now occupying more than 6,000 square feet in the Hanover Industrial Estates.

Duvall, 42, of Kingston, owns the Kingston-based company that designs and manufactures fine leather goods.

The company has leased a 6,015-square-foot flex space at 1065 Hanover St. from Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services and will use the space to support its retail operation at 314 Wyoming Ave., Kingston.

Founded in 2005 by Duvall, the company designs and handcrafts personal accessories for men and women including belts, wallets, gifts and a full line of handbags.

“The new space in Hanover Industrial Estates will be our ‘artisan workshop,’” said Duvall. “Here, our skilled artisans will handcraft all of the wonderful products Duvall Leatherwork offers both in store and online. The new workshop gives our artisans a spacious and quiet environment to concentrate on producing high quality leather goods.”

Duvall said the company’s growing product line and workforce necessitated the need for more space.

“The new location gives us the perfect opportunity to expand the size of our retail store in Kingston,” he said. “We are giving our artisan team more space to work and giving our customers a better in-store shopping experience.”

The Kingston retail store is located at 314 Wyoming Ave.

Self-taught

Duvall said he is a self-taught leather artisan who served a brief apprenticeship.

“I’ve always been interested in American history,” Duvall said. “Especially 19th century military history. And I am always reading about the Civil War.”

Duvall said he has collected many Civil War artifacts and he plans on displaying them at his new office.

A native of Mercersburg near the Maryland border, Duvall learned to carve leather scraps as a child using tools his father had given him. He learned about technique as an apprentice but moved to Northeastern Pennsylvania to study land surveying before leaving that line of work to open Duvall Leatherwork on Jan. 1, 2005.

“We just outgrew our Kingston space,” he said. By moving the manufacturing to here, we can expand our retail space in Kingston.”

Duvall said he took one look at the new site and knew it was right for his company and 15 employees. He said everyone has their own space and there are more restrooms and break rooms for the employees.

“A happy employee makes quality products,” Duvall said.

Duvall added that his growing company needed to find an expansion space quickly, so buying a building and renovating it would have been challenging.

“It was just the perfect space at the perfect time,” he said. “We needed a space that wasn’t too big, but large enough for future growth. We also needed to be within a few miles from our retail store and Hanover was the optimal choice for us.”

Testimonials

Lindsay Griffin, COO and executive vice president of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, said the expansion of Duvall Leatherwork into their new space in Hanover Industrial Estates celebrates the success and accomplishments that Duvall brought to the Wyoming Valley in 2005.

“Duvall Leatherwork has become a staple in our business community with clients all of the world and we are so proud that he has chosen our area as his home base and continues to expand and grow,” Griffin said. “This new Artisan Workshop will allow for the enhanced production of the high quality items that Duvall is known for and what we are confident will be a continued bright and successful future.”

Dave Kuharchik, Business Development Director for Mericle, coordinated the real estate transaction.

“The fine leather goods crafted by the Duvall’s artisans are amazing,” said Kuharchik. “I have no doubt that as word spreads about the quality of Nick’s products, his business will continue to grow.”

For more information about the products available at Duvall Leatherwork, visit — www.duvallleatherwork.com — or visit the retail store front in Kingston.