It is rare to have a market member who has been a craftsman longer than the Lithia Artisans Market has existed, but that is the case with leather belt maker Gene Nawrocki. Let’s go back to 1977, the year the album “Rumours” came out by Fleetwood Mac. It was a time of peace and love, a real groovy time to be alive in America.
Gene had just lost his job at a vinyl textile factory in Toledo, Ohio. A family friend offered him an apprenticeship learning leatherwork. The only catch was he needed to relocate from the Midwest to the West Coast. Gene didn’t hesitate, he loaded up his 1969 Mercury Cougar and made his way across the country to the city by the bay, San Francisco.
His old friend Mike Barney taught Gene everything he needed to know about leather. The shop was down at the old Pier 39 on the wharf. Back then you could cast a line right out the back door of the shop and catch your dinner. It was a cool space to hang out and learn a new trade.
You could say that Gene was one of the original San Francisco street artists. He did shows all over California and eventually decided to move north to Oregon in 2007.
“I remember meeting Gene at the Rogue Valley Mall in the winter of 2010,” said Marcus Scott, manager of the Lithia Artisans Market. “I was taken by the quality of his work and told him to consider joining the Artisans Market in Ashland.” In the spring of 2011 he joined the Lithia Artisans Market and never looked back.
Today he lives in La Pine, a few miles south of Bend, Oregon. He makes the three-hour trip every weekend to Ashland to sell his leather belts. He has a committed following at the market and is known for making belts that will last a lifetime. Find him and dozens of other talented makers at the Lithia Artisans Market. Open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-5pm.
