NEENAH (WLUK) — The Tailored Hide Custom Leather & Repair will close after nearly 40 years in business.
“So right now I’m in the final process of finishing a deerskin vest that we are making,” said Leeann Wasinger, owner of the store. “Lining is in, just doing the final top stitching, there’ll be snaps on the front, and then it’ll be ready to go out the door.”
For nearly 40 years, Wasinger has been been crafting and selling leather goods in Neenah. The vest she finished on Tuesday is one of the final hand-crafted pieces she’ll make in her long career.
Started in 1986, the business operated out of her home to make jackets for bikers.
“We just kind of grew into it from there,” said Wasinger.
She bought her first storefront in 1999.
Leeann Wasinger is retiring after nearly 40 years running The Tailored Hide Custom Leather & Repair in downtown Neenah. Oct. 21, 2025. (WLUK/David Go){p}{/p}
“It was very small,” said Wasinger. “It was like a 900-square ft. building that we started in.”
She then moved to downtown Neenah in 2017 at the corner of Commercial Street and Winneconne Avenue. She recently decided to retire, selling off the building and closing up shop. But until then, the team of 6 will run the shop, some items made in-store, some not. And of course, keep creating and altering leather goods.
“There’s a need for it, there’s not a whole lot of people around that do it,” said Wasinger.
Items that will endure – even as the Tailored Hide closes up shop.
“It’s going to be really bittersweet,” said Wasinger.
The store will likely close later this winter. It’s the second long-time Neenah business to close this fall.
