our story

Who We Are

Since our founding in 1908, we have a near complete listing of supplies catering to leather, crafts, leather care & equine enthusiasts at our warehouse in Billings, Montana. Originally established to support the mining industry and shoe repair trade in Butte, Montana, our family-owned business has spent over 115 years perfecting the art of sourcing and distributing fine leather.

We’ve grown from serving local miners to supporting a worldwide community of professional leatherworkers and hobbyists. Join us as we continue our legacy of quality, helping the next generation of leathercrafters create something extraordinary.

Our History

115+ Years in the Making

1908

Founding in Butte

George Gordon MacPherson establishes Montana Leather Company in Butte, Montana. He brings a legacy of craftsmanship to the company as his father, John McPherson, owned the prominent John McPherson & Co. boot and shoe manufacturing operation in Hamilton, Ontario.

1910's

A Growing Family & Empire

George and his wife Elizabeth "Elsa"—a prominent piano teacher—raise their five children: Louise, John, George, Bruce, and James, who all eventually have a hand in the family business.

1920’s

The Next Generation Expands West

Jack expands the business by opening a location in Billings, Montana, which is later forced to close due to the economic devastation of the Dust Bowl. Bruce founds Oregon Leather Company in Portland and MacPherson Leather Company in Seattle. Kenneth establishes stores in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

1929

Jack Takes the Helm

Founder George Gordon passes away, and leadership of Montana Leather Company transitions to his son, John "Jack" MacPherson.

1945

James White Takes Over

Following Jack's passing, James White takes over management of Montana Leather Company. Ownership of the company remains with the MacPhersons.

1957

Markovich & Gregorich Era

Management passes to the duo of Bert Markovich and Joe Gregorich, while ownership remains proudly with the MacPhersons.

1979

Bert Markovich Leads Solo

Joe Gregorich retires after more than 20 years of service, and Bert Markovich assumes sole management of Montana Leather Company — still operating from its original Butte home.

1988

The Move to Billings

Douglas MacPherson (4th generation) takes over as President and relocates the company from Butte to its current home in Billings, Montana.

2016

Fifth Generation Joins

The fifth generation of the MacPherson family, Patrick, joins Montana Leather Company, continuing a tradition that stretches back over a century to George Gordon's founding vision.

Today

Five Generations, One Passion

Douglas and his son, Patrick, co-manage Montana Leather Company and maintain a commitment to excellence that they hope will continue for generations to come.

Find Us

Visit Our Billings Store

Store Hours

  • Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
  • Saturday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
  • Sunday Closed

Address

2015 First Ave N, Billings, MT 59101

Get directions

Fair Pricing, Quick Shipping & Beautiful Leather

4.7
recommends
Ordered on 11/29/24. Received on 12/5/24. Very speedy and shipping was free! Love this leather… I will be buying from these folks going forward.
recommends
excellent service, quick shipping and the leather is great!
Great store! Lots of selection, prices are reasonable.
I love the odd lot discounts! Free shipping and it is almost always faster than the competition. I’ve never gotten a bad chunk from MLC
Photo from customer review
First time using Montana leather. Was processed and shipped within just a few days. Was surprised and pleased. Then UPS got the package. They don’t get a star. Saturday arrival eventually showed up Tuesday after daily being delayed. I will shop Montana again. Leather was exactly as described. Going to make some great bags and pouches
Shipping was good 👍
recommends
Amazing quality leather and awesome customer service. My #1 Leather company of choice .
Best prices, best products
First let me say, I love Montana Leather. I will definitely continue to shop with them in the future. I recently ordered two hides, both were on sale and it was made clear they could/would have blemishes. Not a problem. The orange hide with the light pull up is fabulous! The medium brown hide has about ⅔ of it covered in some sort of spots. It would be a beautiful hide but the spots are definitely an issue. Ill continue to buy from Montana Leather. I've never gotten any item from them I wasn't completely happy with. This is the first.
Stopped in to see if they could punch some holes in a lifting belt. They did it fast and came out great! Everyone in the shop was friendly and I was very happy!
Absolutely exceptional leather company. They have any and everything you could possibly be in search of. The staff is beyond knowledgeable, kind and helpful!
Love this place. They have some great items and super fast shipping.
recommends
hi my wish is to see more of your leather bags
recommends
Just got our order. The leather looks amazing!!
recommends
Great company and great products. Everything is American made. The way it should be!
Staff was super helpful and friendly, helped me find everything I needed for my project!
recommends
Just got my order, I was expecting a bunch of little scrap pieces but thanks for sending big scrap pieces, those will work great for the 4H kids! 💕
recommends
Just put my first order in with them today and it was an absolute pleasure to speak to with them on the phone. I’m very new at all of this and they were extremely helpful and I could not believe how low the prices were compared to other places. Look forward to working with them for years to come.
recommends
If you can, visit the store. They have most everything you could imagine for building your best piece yet. You need to go nowhere else, they have it all.
recommends
I recently placed a phone order for a bunch of hardware and some latigo straps. They cut the straps to custom length for me and my order still shipped out same day! The quality of the hardware and leather are fantastic and beat the price of many other well known companies. Easy to work with and I will definitely be ordering from them again!
recommends
You get what you order. You order a grade A hide that is what you get not a blemish at all. And their shearling hides i am proud to use on any saddle build. And you don't have to wait forever, shipping is fast.
Very helpful and frendly. Nice leather!
The best leather shop
I bought some Vibram 100 lug soles from them and even though I had to return one pair because I ordered the wrong size, and another pair got lost in the mail I was impressed with their professional and quick responses to my queries in every interaction, and how they took care of me without complaint.
recommends
just received my first order of the Walnut Apache Tan bison. best quality I've found out there. definitely getting more for other projects.

Google Rating

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