HOBO Bags once sent DropForge Leather Care in Clarkston about 80 new and returned handbags with specific instructions.

The purse maker wanted video of what each bag looked like before, during and after applications of DropForge’s leather conditioner made from beeswax, seed oils and tallow, said Bryan Hossner, a founder and CEO of DropForge.

Whatever HOBO Bags saw in the footage hit the right note, Hossner said.

HOBO Bags became a customer in 2017 and has been an important reason for DropForge’s growth, he said.

Founded in Maryland, HOBO Bags is known for its natural leather purses and wallets.

It’s one of more than 125 leather makers that sell DropForge products under their own labels, generating annual revenue expected to reach $1 million this year for the company founded in 2015.

Besides HOBO Bags, some of DropForge’s clients from all over the world are Range Leather in Laramie, Wyo.; Craft and Lore in Coeur d’Alene; Buffalo Jackson in Matthews, N.C.; Duluth Pack in Duluth, Minn.; and Popov Leather in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, the Hossners said.

All of DropForge’s customers have loyal followings for their upper-end items, said Bryan Hossner.

Typically DropForge’s customers include small, complimentary packages of its conditioner as gifts with purchase or market them alongside their products online or at brick-and-mortar stores.

Someone spending hundreds of dollars for boots or a purse doesn’t sweat adding an extra $20 to an order for a leather conditioner, Hossner said.

That’s especially so if the relatively inexpensive purchase will extend the life of an heirloom-quality leather item by years and the product is backed by a brand they adore, Hossner said.

“They trust them,” he said. “If a company says something is good on their bag, that’s what they’re going to buy.”

Hossner and his son, Luke Hossner, a co-founder and chief operating officer of DropForge, invented the conditioner they believed could meet a need, drawing on what the elder Hossner knew from decades of observing successful and failed ventures.

Luke Hossner and his sister, Katie Hossner, who joined DropForge in 2022 and is chief administrative officer, remember their dad never having “normal” hobbies.

On weekends, the brother and sister would find themselves in the garage helping package whatever item one of their dad’s companies was selling at the time.

Out of that, the elder Hossner said he learned prosperous businesses trade in consumables that need to be replenished at regular intervals.

That prevents repeat orders from being dependent on the introduction of new products or a customer breaking an item, he said.

The product should be no larger than a shoe box to mitigate shipping costs and offer a tangible, easy-to-quantify benefit to customers, Hossner said.

All of that needs to be paired with customer service that focuses on making the experience pleasant and fast, he said.

DropForge adheres to those principles, Hossner said.

Tallow or beef fat in DropForge formulas repairs flaws instead of masking them, which translates into huge savings for people who treat damaged or worn leather items with a DropForge product instead of replacing them, he said.

“Right below the hide layer is the fat layer,” said Luke Hossner. “With tallow, you’re reintroducing the same fats, lipids and nutrients into leather items that in a very complicated way keep the hide healthy. That’s the magic. Our products truly heal leather. You’ll see little scratches be resolved.”

And unlike many of the options in the same category, the DropForge mixes aren’t toxic, a big bonus for something used in a home environment, Luke Hossner said.

Every ingredient is 100% natural and food grade in the blends that are so safe that employees sometimes use them as lip balm.

“If a dog were to eat a can of leather cream, they might have some interesting bowel movements, but they would be totally fine,” said Luke Hossner.

As solid as the concept was, initially DropForge faced challenges, such as a less-than-perfect KickStarter campaign that raised $2,000, half of its $4,000 goal.

The KickStarter campaign was filmed after hours in what was then a cellphone store next door to Clarkston’s Starbucks, a spot chosen partly for its lighting and the younger Hossner’s ability to secure it because he was an employee.

The lessons DropForge learned in the apparent dead end held the key to the company’s future. The Hossners noticed that many Kickstarter campaigns provided capital for new models of leather goods like purses at existing companies and for new leather brands.

Each company seeking investors for a new bag or purse was a potential DropForge customer.

By going to the companies directly, DropForge could get its products before large audiences, bypassing the more traditional route of distributing through chain stores that were consolidating suppliers at the time.

“It was kind of a purging at big box retailers,’’ Bryan Hossner said. “It became very difficult to start a brand in the traditional way.”

They began sending introductory emails, followed by samples. Sales blossomed. Often the Hossners would be contacted by a top executive in the company within weeks of the first email, which is what happened with HOBO Bags.

Even at that early stage of the company, DropForge could have orders ready within weeks of the first email, with packaging using the logo of the customer, not DropForge.

Expansion has occurred on a variety of fronts. Besides leather conditioners, DropForge carries a cleaner and waterproofer. DropForge gained specialized expertise in how to handle complicated shipping logistics to destinations such as Amazon and Walmart warehouses as well as countries all over the world.

Its customer list continues to grow. It has four customers that each order about the same amount as HOBO Bags and another national brand that is larger by many times.

Now in space leased from the Port of Clarkston, DropForge is looking for a new, bigger location in a facility better suited to its existing volume and what it anticipates handling in the future.

“We started in dad’s garage,” Luke Hossner said. “Then we moved from there to a rental, which was a slightly bigger garage. And then we moved from there to here, which is more of a workshop. Now we’re ready to really have a facility.”

The potential, the younger Hossners said, is almost limitless and includes selling to more leather brands.

They’ve also introduced a line for canvas care, after recognizing similarities in leather care and canvas care products and an overlap in customers for both.

Even more is in development, Luke Hossner said.

“You can take our entire unique business model and you can replicate it with wood care products and metal care products,” he said. “We are on a trajectory that I don’t think is going to come down any time soon.”

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.

About DropForge Leather Care

Bryan Hossner and his son, Luke Hossner, founded DropForge Leather Care in 2015. The company at 1335 Port Drive in Clarkston manufactures leather care and canvas care products, including cleaners, conditioners and waterproofers. The items are sold under private labels to more than 100 companies.

The elder Hossner, who recently retired as a commercial lender at Zions Bank in Lewiston, serves as CEO. Luke Hossner is chief operating officer and has always handled the day-to-day operations of the business.

Katie Hossner, Bryan Hossner’s daughter and Luke Hossner’s sister, joined DropForge in 2022. A former sexual assault advocate with a mental health agency, she is DropForge’s chief administrative officer.

The company’s first employee outside of the founders was Stephanie Peters, who developed manufacturing processes for many of DropForge’s products before moving outside the area.

In addition to the Hossners, DropForge has seven employees. Jennifer Opdahl is labeling supervisor. Nanette Boyer is production supervisor.