Accelerating Toward Success with Snowshoe Leather Care
When it came time for a fourth-generation company to step into the 21st century, there was no better person for the job than Tiffany Huey. As founder and CEO of Bend-based Snowshoe Leather Care, she stepped into the shoes of her great-grandfather, who transformed the business from a hobby to become a thriving heritage brand.
Raised in Portland, Oregon, Huey has a broad marketing background and built her career with Fortune 500 companies such as Starbucks, PepsiCo. and Nestle. To help position Snowshoe Leather Care, Huey participated in the Bend Outdoor Worx program, which supports innovative outdoor-focused companies. Here, she shares her experience of respecting a company’s history while accelerating it into the future.
What is the lineage of your family business?
Snowshoe Leather Care was founded in 1927, back when snowshoes were made with leather bindings—hence the name. Those bindings had to be soft, supple and waterproof to perform well in harsh conditions. While leather snowshoes are a rarity today, the product lives on because it restores leather’s beauty and enhances its durability. My grandfather purchased the business from my great-grandfather around 1950 after he retired from the railroad. It was meant to be a small hobby, but he grew it significantly. At one point, Snowshoe products were sold by retailers like L.L. Bean and JCPenney. During the past few generations, the company became more of a side hustle for my family until I decided to leave my corporate career and return to my roots. I knew we had a remarkable product with a cult following and a rich story—I just needed to give it the care and attention it deserved.
You refer to yourself as a re-founder? What does that mean?
Although Snowshoe Leather Care has been around for nearly 100 years, in many ways it operates like a startup. During the past two years, I’ve rebuilt the foundation by streamlining operations, refreshing the brand, updating our packaging, building a digital presence, scaling distribution and relocating manufacturing to a rustic barn on the east side of Bend.
I may not be the original founder, but I’ve taken on the role of reimagining and reinvigorating the brand for a new era. “Re-founder” feels like the perfect word to describe that journey—and it gives me a meaningful way to tell the Snowshoe story.
The process and formula seem like an ultimate recipe for Pacific Northwest success. What can you tell us about it?
Being based in the Pacific Northwest has shaped our identity. We know rain. We know cold. And we know how to protect leather from moisture, mold and the elements. Here in Central Oregon, it’s important to moisturize leather to prevent it from drying out and cracking. With nearly a century of experience, we’ve truly perfected our approach.
We still use the same formula, equipment and ingredients my grandfather used, including beeswax, pine resin and carnauba wax, which is a type of palm wax. Our customers include saddle makers, rodeo outfitters, motorcycle leather enthusiasts and cobblers who’ve sworn by Snowshoe for decades. We’ve never felt the need to change a winning formula with a new and improved version because it already works beautifully and has such a loyal following.
How do you envision your company evolving?
We’re incredibly excited about what’s ahead. We’re currently expanding our product line, with special interest in product-specific offerings and the furniture care space. Customers have shared amazing before-and-after stories of restoring dry, pet scratched leather sofas and chairs with our conditioner, and we see a lot of potential there.
We’re also approaching our 100-year anniversary—an incredible milestone that deserves to be celebrated. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to honor the brand’s legacy. One idea I’m exploring is finding century-old leather items and telling the stories they carry. If anyone has a treasured leather heirloom with a story to tell, I’d love to hear from you!
What are some other stories that span across time?
One of the unexpected joys of taking over the business has been digging through old bankers’ boxes full of dusty files. I’ve uncovered correspondence between my grandfather and the U.S. Naval Academy, supply negotiations with European vendors and all kinds of fascinating documents. It’s been meaningful to see how he navigated the same types of business decisions I now face.
One story that stands out is Richard’s, a rodeo cowboy, rancher and longtime customer from The Grove, Texas, with a lifetime of rich experiences. He first discovered Snowshoe back in the 1960s while apprenticing under master saddlemaker Floyd Lingle in Kissimmee, Florida. Richard still rides with a saddle Floyd made for him in 1973, kept in “mint” condition thanks to decades of care and consistent use of Snowshoe Leather Conditioner. It’s stories like his—of craft passed down, of cherished items, and of loyalty that spans generations—that make this work so rewarding. Learn more about Snowshoe Leather Care on their website.
