Madison Stitch

Madison Stitch is a Crossroads leather-goods maker founded by KC native John Pryor in spring 2020, hand-stitching bags, belts, wallets, and accessories from Missouri-tanned full-grain leather. It grew out of Pryor’s furniture studio madison-flitch during the COVID-19 lockdown and shares its Crossroads workshop and ownership, employing local stitchers including refugee artisans.

Description

Madison Stitch is a small studio-and-showroom leather-goods maker in Kansas City’s Crossroads arts district. The team hand-stitches bags, belts, wallets, and fashion accessories in-studio, finishing pieces with locally harvested wood tags and elements and backing them with a lifetime guarantee.¹²³ The leather is custom full-grain, vegetable-tanned hide from Hermann Oak Tannery in Missouri, a tannery the brand describes as using traditional techniques more than 150 years old.² The studio also runs in-house experiences and classes — leather craft, belt-making, jewelry-making, and wine/whiskey tastings.³

Ownership and history

Madison Stitch is owned by John Pryor, a Kansas City native who returned home from Boston to contribute to downtown’s revival and who also founded the furniture studio madison-flitch (the “tree-to-table” woodwork brand) in 2016.⁴⁵ Madison Stitch was born out of the Madison Flitch studio during the COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020: Pryor pivoted to making masks — reportedly producing over 15,000 in eight weeks — and in the process connected with hand-stitchers across the city, including refugee communities from Myanmar and Afghanistan, then formalized that network into a leather-goods brand.²³ The two businesses share ownership and the same Crossroads workshop address at 501 E 16th St.¹⁶ Pryor has publicly advocated for preserving the Crossroads’ artist-and-maker character, including in coverage of the proposed Royals stadium near his shop.⁷

Links

• Official site: https://www.madisonstitch.com/
• About: https://www.madisonstitch.com/about-1
• Sister brand: madison-flitch — https://www.madisonflitch.com/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/madison-stitch-kansas-city

Sources

Disputes

None at this time.

Footnotes

1. https://www.madisonstitch.com/ — asserts: address “501 E 16th St. Kansas City, Missouri 64108,” hours “10-5pm Monday–Friday,” handmade leather goods, active e-commerce/product listings. ↩ ↩²

2. https://www.madisonstitch.com/about-1 — asserts: owner John Pryor; founded spring 2020 out of the Madison Flitch studio during COVID; leather custom-made by Hermann Oak Tannery, Missouri (“finest full-grain vegetable-tanned leather… for over 150 years”); local designers/stitchers including refugee artisans from Myanmar and Afghanistan; sister venture to Madison Flitch. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. https://kansascitymag.com/local-leather/ — asserts: founder John Pryor; born during COVID from the Madison Flitch furniture studio (masks first, then leather); artisanal hand-stitched leather bags/accessories with lifetime guarantees; leather from a local tannery using “200-year-old techniques”; wood elements self-harvested; in-house classes (leather craft, belt-making, jewelry, wine/whiskey tasting); lists address as “507 E. 16th St.” ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. https://www.linkedin.com/in/pryorjohn/ — asserts: John Pryor, Company Owner, Madison Stitch. ↩

5. https://flatlandkc.org/news-issues/madison-flitch-brings-tree-to-table-style-to-crossroads/ — asserts: John Pryor returned to native Kansas City from Boston; founded Madison Flitch (2016) on a “tree-to-table” model; Crossroads location. ↩

6. https://www.madisonstitch.com/contact — asserts: Crossroads studio/showroom; weekend visits by appointment; contact info@madisonstitch.com. ↩

7. https://www.kcur.org/housing-development-section/2024-02-19/kansas-city-royals-stadium-crossroads-business-community-benefits-agreement — asserts: John Pryor owns leather-goods store Madison Stitch about a block from the proposed Crossroads stadium site and advocates preserving the arts district’s character. ↩