THE EARLY YEARS

In 1930, at the start of the Great Depression, Vern Pearsall was laid off from his
sales job at a major tannery. Having spent his life in the shoe and leather
business, he decided to make a living as a leather jobber and wholesaler. After
struggling through a few lean years, he was joined in 1936 by his former boss,
Alf Moore, and together they formed Moore Pearsall Leathers. A sales office in
Montreal followed soon after, and a finishing department was opened in Toronto,
specializing in veg splits.

1945–1954

The business grew significantly during the war years and more space was
critical. The company purchased the heritage building at 47 Front Street East
in downtown Toronto. Built in 1870, it was part of a group of three attached
buildings with cast iron fronts—the only ones left in Toronto. It still stands
today, with its heritage colours and original signage visible.

In this 24-foot-wide building, we split, shaved, buffed, embossed, and measured while five clicking machines cut shoe parts! Over the next few years, various machines and operations were relocated within the building.

  • Our original Front St. location in March 2023
  • Front St. location in the early eighties
  • One of our old embossing machines

The Big Fire

January 6, 1954: A fire broke out in the old wooden elevator shaft, apparently caused by a smouldering cigarette butt. The fire quickly rose to the roof and fourth floor, where the weight of heavy machines caused a large section of the building to collapse into the basement.

Production was disrupted. Fortunately, space was available in the nearby
Beardmore Building, where they cut and stocked industrial machine belting and
sole leather from their Acton tannery. Within ten days, full production had
resumed. Embossing and splitting were carried out in the basement of the
burned-out shell. Six months later, we returned to our then "modernized(1950s-style) building.

During our heyday, we were finishing over 5,000,000 square feet of splits
annually—selling at prices of 10, 11, and 12 cents per square foot for shoe
linings, up to about 35 cents maximum for heavier weights.

As time passed, obtaining veg-tanned split raw materials became more difficult
due to decreasing sole leather production. This, combined with environmental concerns about water usage and air quality from spraying, led us to cease finishing splits in 1985.

  • A scene from the 1954 fire
  • An advertisement announcing our grand re-opening

The Golden Years

The 1980s marked a golden era for leather garment manufacturing in Canada, and Moore-Pearsall stood at the forefront—arguably the leading supplier in the industry. We were moving many millions of square feet of leather each year, serving both the fashion apparel and team jacket markets. At our peak, we employed over twenty people across our Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City offices.

With the arrival of the 1990s came a significant shift in global manufacturing, with production rapidly moving to China. This transition dealt a heavy blow to Canada’s domestic industry. While the scale of our operations has diminished since then, we are proud to still work with a number of exceptional customers who continue to thrive and keep Canadian craftsmanship alive.

  • Long time employee preparing lining leather in the eighties
  • Scene from a trade show in the late eighties

CHANGING LANDSCAPE

In 1999, the heritage building in downtown Toronto was sold due to changes in real estate and shifting customer demographics. Moore-Pearsall Leathers relocated to 7-100 Wingold Avenue to be closer to the new fashion district in North Toronto.

In 2020, Brian Farquhar, who started with Moore-Pearsall in 1985, took over the
business. We continue to curate and sell high-quality leathers while providing excellent service to our new and established wholesale and retail customers in the belt,
equestrian, footwear, leather goods, garment, bag, and orthopaedic industries.

Join us on your journey to find the best leather for your needs. We're here to
help.

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