From the “Art Leather Center of the Whole Civilized World” 

by Gene Fowler 

Most entrepreneurs, when considering starting a business, get a common piece of good advice from family and friends. Before putting your own name above the “open” sign, the parties counsel and spend some time working for someone else in the same business. Learn the ropes. Get the lay of the land. 

C. Loy Cuellar of El Paso, took those words to heart. Before opening C. Loy’s Leathers in early 2015, he spent more than 35 years in sales with another El Paso hide distributor, Charles L. Hardtke Inc. “It can take a long time to truly learn about leather,” C. Loy confides. But his persistence paid off. Today, C. Loy’s Leathers ships hides all over the U.S. and beyond. Operating the business with his wife, Pat Cuellar, C. Loy’s specializes in goat, calf, liner leathers, bull and cow hide, and exotics. 

And even though the business has customers far from its El Paso headquarters, its home base was christened the “Art Leather Center of the Whole Civilized World” by all-star saddlemaker S. D. Myres way back in 1920. In more recent decades, the City at the Pass has modestly billed itself as the “Cowboy Boot Capital of the World.” But as the timeworn phrase contends, it ain’t braggin’ if it’s true, and C. Loy points out in an interview that El Paso is currently home to around 100 bootmakers – from the smallest outfits to the Justins and Tony Lamas. 

An eyeful of C. Loy’s best-selling hides will support Sam Myres’ century-old declaration about the importance of Paso del Norte in the greater leather world. The Cuellars’ Glazed Taurus Shoulder hide (or bull hide), imported from Spain, is one top seller. It’s a five-and-a-half-ounce leather and is available in Aztec, Noce, Habana and other colors. Another big seller, the three-ounce Glass Calf hide, is sourced from Europe, and C. Loy’s has it in six shades including Almond, Turftan and Burgundy. 

Most of C. Loy’s Leathers hides are chrome tanned, though the Taurus Shoulder is veg tanned. Their Goat leather, which is sourced from India (as is their cow lining), is available in a Glaze Aniline/Full Chrome in 17 colors that include Kango Tobac, Kelly Green, Turquoise and Antique Brown. C. Loy’s deep dark Brush off Goat comes in Black Cherry, Brazil and Jacinto. 

Two C. Loy’s Leathers products—Bootlegger and Missouri—sparked my interest with terms I’d not seen before in a hide context. “The Bootlegger is cow leather that we oil tan here ourselves,” explains C. Loy. It’s available in Black, Rust and Walnut. “And the Missouri is European calf.  Mostly used for high-end bags, boots and shoes, it’s softer than Glass Calf and has a soft tan, speckled look.” 

The Cuellars’ customer list extends from coast to coast and border to border and, despite a bump during the pandemic, the business has grown so much that C. Loy and Pat have had to physically expand their warehouse twice. “Most of our customers are small mom-and-pop leather companies,” says C. Loy. Many are cowboy bootmakers. The colorful Rocketbuster Boots of El Paso, known worldwide for its “space-age vintage style,” sources some of its leather from C. Loy’s. 

The Cuellars also provide hides for Stallion Boots, aka “Bob Dylan’s bootmaker,” in the City at the Pass. Other bootmakers who call on C. Loy’s extensive experience and inventory include White’s Boots (“made by hand since 1853”) in Spokane, Washington; Loveless Shoes of  Oklahoma City; and the legendary Paul Bond Boots in the historic border town of Nogales, Arizona. 

C. Loy and Pat meet their leather community friends and customers at at least four trade shows a year: the Southwest Leather Workers Trade Show in Prescott, Arizona (Feb. 24 – 26, 2023); the Boot and Saddlemakers Show in Wichita Falls, Texas (Sept. 30 – Oct. 1, 2022); the Rocky Mountain Leather Trade Show of Sheridan, Wyoming (May 19 – 21, 2023); and the Heart of Texas Leather Show in Waco (Aug. 12 – 14, 2022). 

In September of 2021, they crossed the big pond to attend LINEAPELLE in Milan, Italy, which describes itself as “the most important international exhibition dedicated to leather, accessories, components, synthetics and models for footwear, leather goods, garments and furniture.” The show’s online catalog features more than 1,100 exhibitors. 

“We were also very pleased to visit with our European vendors on the trip,” says C. Loy. “The visit opened trust between us.” 

At C. Loy’s Leathers, that trust is the bedrock foundation. One hide at a time, carefully providing good customer service for over 40 years, C. Loy Cuellar has had very few hides returned. 

cloysleathers.com