From Furniture to Hand Bags
Madison Stitch was founded by John Pryor out of the Madison Flitch furniture studio during the COVID-19 crisis in Spring 2020. Looking for a way to stay afloat during the pandemic, John started making and selling face masks. Expecting to sell only a few dozen per week, John made and sold over 15,000 masks over 8 weeks. To meet demand, John connected with stitchers across the city, including refugee communities from Myanmar and Afghanistan who understood how to make things by hand with quality workmanship. Now selling bags and other hand-stitched products, Madison Stitch platforms the original designs and craft of the stitchers who rose from the margins to provide critical supplies to local hospitals during the pandemic.
Made by hand, made with love.
“What would a farm-to-table approach to artisan handbags look like? For us, it started with our local designers, then moved to locally-sourced leather, linen, and wood to create fashion accessories that reflect and celebrate the natural beauty of our community.”
~John Pryor, founder of Madison Stitch
Local materials, local artisans.
Every wood element in our bags comes from a local tree we harvested ourselves. Our leather comes from local suppliers and tanneries who abide by safe environmental practices and use traditional techniques from the 19th century. Every bag is pain-stakingly designed and made in our downtown studio by our talented stitchers based around our local materials. The end result is a product that reflects and celebrates the community.
Lifetime Guarantee
We don’t cut corners, and we stand behind our products. We offer a lifetime guarantee for every bag made in our studio. If anything ever happens to your product, due to faulty material or craftsmanship, we will fix or replace for you.
The Studio and Retail Store
We have a small studio and showroom in the Crossroads arts district of downtown Kansas City. We recommend scheduling a personal shopping appointment to ensure you receive our total attention.
507 E 16th St. Kansas City, MO 64108
Studio hours: 10-5pm Monday - Friday
For the good of the community
Our full-time stitchers are paid a living wage and share in 10% of all sales. A portion of our profits also go to women’s training programs to develop the next generation of artisans.