Ten Years of Production for Good Wear Leather

It was in 2006 that John Chapman thought about making a copy of an original Type A-2 flight jacket. He had bought a size 48 J.A. Dubow 27798 from a friend, and though it was a good jacket, it had red-rot in a number of places.

He thought about using it to trace out a pattern, and looked at possible choices of a sewing machine. Using a home machine, he built the first Good Wear jacket. It was bad! This would lead to six months of learning the most rudimentary skills of sewing, and to a life-long learning of how to make quality jackets.

There was only the intention of making a jacket for personal use. But, as time went by and several more jackets were made, the thought that a company could be built was more and more clear. At the time, John was part of a web application team at Draft FCB in Seattle, and the typical laying off of a group of employees, including John, was just the springboard to start regular production.

Time goes by far faster than we can imagine. There are great companies that have been around far longer, and new ones that are growing and yet to come. We are happy to be a part of this community of leather jackets. We're also deeply indebted to the many friends who have helped Good Wear to become what it is today—it's the work of many people and a spirit of generosity. There's no way we could have lasted this long without the grand help of our many customers and friends.

What started as a simple idea to copy a jacket has grown into 50 different patterns. To see all of what we make, please peruse the images in this link.

We hope to have another great decade! Both you and us.

Thank you very much,
Good Wear Leather Coat Co.