Jena Minue and her husband Arlan recently expanded their custom leather business to include shoe repair in Warner, Alberta.
The duo has created and packaged custom leather products for the last 15 years and recently added shoe repair when they purchased a retired business owner’s inventory of equipment.
They applied for and received the Small Business Loan and Capital Growth Initiative for Women Entrepreneurs Loan through Alvaro Mendes, business analyst with Community Futures Chinook.
“We’ve never taken a business loan out for a start-up, so I wasn’t sure if we’d be considered. Alvaro was excited about our ideas and was helpful in getting us started,” says Jena.
The next step was to rebrand from A Diamond J Leather, to Diamond Leather & Boot Repair. Grace Evans, Digital Service Squad member with Community Futures Chinook, assists businesses in growing and polishing their online presence.
Grace designed a new logo for the business, and helped create social media posts that introduced the addition to Diamond Leather.
“Grace was super easy to work with. I would tell any business owner to definitely connect with Alvaro and Grace. A friend was telling me about her business venture, and I told her about Community Futures Chinook and the programs we used,” says Jena.
The man who sold Jena and Arlan his business was in the industry for 40 years. The two spent a few weeks learning the craft from him, and he’s still happy to answer questions they have along the way.
“Everyone in the area is excited, and people are saying it’s nice to see someone going into this line of business, since it seems to be a lost art. You don’t see as many people going into shoe repair, but there definitely is a need.”
Since the announcement of their addition a month ago, Jena and her husband have been busy. People have brought in their work boots, and more, from Warner, Lethbridge, and across the County.
The two repair any type and brand of shoe, from Birkenstocks, to cowboy boots, work boots, and moccasins.
“I like making and fixing things. I’ve built belts, purses, phone cases, rifle scabbards, phone cases, leather earrings — a range of custom orders. We’ve fixed saddles, chaps, and even diaper bags,” says Jena.
Diamond Leather & Boot Repair on Facebook and Instagram.
