By Nick Pernokas 

The beautiful country around Middleburg, Virginia, is home to the oldest fox hunt in America. Since the early 1800s, riders have ridden to the hounds here; red coats on gray and brown horses making a stunning sight in the morning mist as they stream across the countryside without opening a gate. Tradition is important here and it manifests itself in many ways. One of these is a leather shop that has its roots with those that know the thrill of the airborne equine, but one that has also moved on to be revered by those that just appreciate the romance of it. It is a success story with some valuable lessons. 

When Chuck Pinnell got out of high school in Virginia, he knew that his future lay with art. In 1974, he moved to Manitou Springs, Colorado, where his aunt and uncle lived. One day, his aunt told him that he should check out the “Moccasin Teepee” shop down the road and see if they were hiring. Soon, Chuck had a job working with leather. 

“It was the first time I’d ever worked with leather,” remembers Chuck. “I hand stitched a little practice piece and I knew my life’s work had found me.” 

In 1975, Chuck moved back to Virginia, and went to work at Colonial Williamsburg. The venue is known for its authenticity and all of the employees dress in period clothes. Although Chuck went to work in the leather shop, he was expected to march with the militia at a moment’s notice as would have been the case 200 years earlier. Since 1976 was the Bicentennial, Chuck was able to stand honor guard for heads of state like Gerald Ford, Queen Elizabeth and the Emperor of Japan that visited that year. Perhaps the best perk was that Chuck was in charge of firing the cannon. 

In the harness shop, Chuck apprenticed under Irving Deal. His first job was making a lot of keepers, which he did until he approached perfection on them. During his time there, he learned to build harness and also made two plantation saddles. He was able to build many varied household products that were used in the 18^th century. All of the construction was done with hand tools, using only natural or candle light, in the same manner it would have been done in the 1700s. Even the leather coach suspensions were sewn by hand. 

The ticket monitors at Williamsburg could not read paperback books because it would be anachronistic. They had a lot of time on their hands though; so, Chuck made leather book covers for their reading material, so it appeared to the general public that they were reading old leather-bound books. 

Chuck moved on to Prickett’s Fort, another historical venue in Fairmont, West Virginia. He made frontier military gear such as powder bags, flasks and various slings in the harness shop. 

Two years later, Chuck started The Journeymen Saddlery in Middleburg, Virginia. It was a location that would broaden his horizons.   

“There I did work for a huge audience,” says Chuck. 

The audience wasn’t just huge, but in this affluent area it included celebrities like Ronald Reagan, Dick Smothers, Jackie Onassis and Calvin Klein. The 16 years that Chuck spent there, earned him a lifetime of connections with a world that appreciated his work. 

Chuck custom made a lot of full English schooling chaps at the time and employed a lot of help. Eventually, the cheaper ready-made boot industry killed the schooling chap demand. 

In 1982, Chuck did his first of many trade shows.  

“I’ve been doing trade shows for quite a while. That’s really the reason that I’m as well known as I am. I put myself in front of a very large, wealthy audience.” 

Chuck followed the hunter-jumper circuit and set up at their large horse shows. Generally, he worked out of a tent. Chuck would set the stage with good lighting, Oriental rugs, custom table cloths and flowers. 

“When you walked into my booth, you were walking into a store. A lot of effort went into display and presentation.” 

Chuck also did commissions for private trunk shows, which were on a little smaller scale, but no less profitable. Samples of Chuck’s work were on display and customers could consult with him, or be measured, by appointment. 

Chuck took Randy Merrell’s bootmaking course in the late 80s, and made some cowboy boots, shoes, and eventually quite a few English riding boots. One of his boot customers was Jackie Onassis. 

In 1993, Chuck set up shop in Charlottesville, Virginia. He married Jinny in 1995. One of his unusual jobs there involved binding a set of 100 books for Charlottesville resident John Grisham. They were paper bound copies of a screenplay about baseball and Chuck used baseball-glove-type leather for the cover. Italian marbled book paper was used to line the covers.  

In 1996, Chuck was asked to be the official saddler at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. For six weeks, he repaired tack for all of the nations involved in the equestrian events. He also built belts and other things for competitors to take home for souvenirs. 

Today, Pinnell Custom Leather’s shop is located in Crozet, Virginia. Although rural, Crozet is also located in a very affluent area. In 1998, Chuck renovated a 12,000-square-foot, pre-Civil War railroad station. The post and beam interior has seven-foot-tall windows and aged floors. This makes an incredible stage to display heirloom-quality fine work. 

“It’s the shop of a lifetime. People will bring their friends from out of town just to see the shop.” 

But it’s not just the shop that they come to see. Chuck has people fly in to get measured for the half chaps that he’s famous for. Sissy Spacek recently came in to get chaps made for her daughter. Senator John Warren was a long-time customer who enjoyed visiting the shop. 

Chuck has two talented employees that work for him, as well as a jeweler who uses the lost wax method to create his beautiful sterling buckles. Some of the buckles are sculpted and engraved.  

The variety of leather goods has expanded way past the schooling chaps and half chaps for horsemen. From exotic watch bands to a line of shotgun-related bags for sporting clay shooters, Chuck can make custom items for any purpose. Some of his customers are big game hunters who send him skins from their latest safari to make bags and cases with. 

Currently, Chuck is working on three alligator Bible covers for $19,000. 

“You just never know what is going to come through the door.” 

Just before Covid hit, Chuck had decided not to do trade shows anymore. This saved him a lot of money in the next year. 

“Luckily, I was not on the road when Covid started. I would have been in Florida for a 12-week show and it cost me $30,000 to do that show. And since Covid, the orders have just been streaming in.”  

Part of this may be due to social media. Chuck has been amazed at the response he gets from his posts of work on Instagram. Chuck takes all of the pictures that he posts of his work. He actually has a photo studio in the large loft that he and Jinny live in over the shop.   

Chuck has a lot of repeat business. He just finished up a pair of American alligator handbags for $34,000. This makes eight of Chuck’s bags that this client has now. This is because the customers know the lengths that Chuck goes to for them. 

Chuck has been known to take orders on Christmas and Thanksgiving. It’s not because he needs the business, but because of the people he deals with.  

“I’m the front man. The whole fruition of the piece is my main job. I like what I do because of the people that I do it for. You’re making something really special for a really special person or a really special event. That’s where the real joy of it is. And that’s probably where the success of it is.” 

That may be true, but the moral of Chuck’s story is more than doing the best job you can do for your customer. It really is to go where your work will be appreciated. If you have to go on the road to seek that out, then do it. And, when you finally have that beautiful product created, present it in a setting that it’s worthy of.  

To find out more about Pinnell Custom Leather’s special products, go to Pinnellcustomleather.com, call 434-823-9800 or visit the shop by appointment. 

Pinnell Custom Leather 

1982 White Hall Road 

Crozet, Virginia  22932 

PO Box 808 

Crozet, Virginia  22932