From IT to police work to The Getaway Driver, Stampfel has found his creative side.

Image courtesy of Sophisticate Supply

Adam Stampfel has worn many hats. Before serving as a police officer for 10 years, he worked in the IT department. He left law enforcement in 2018 to start his own business called The Getaway Driver, where he provided drivers to breweries and breweries around Northern Virginia.

Today, Stampfel wears a leather hat-this hat was made by him as the owner of Sophisticate Supply leather goods.

Stampfel started the leather products industry in early 2020. His beverage tourism business is taking off, but most of the work arrangements from Thursday to Sunday allow him to have free time, which he has never had when working as a policeman.

"I have watched some videos of people making leather products on Youtube, and I thought,'This looks very relaxing.' When you sew things by hand, it's the same movement, it's very smooth, and you do it casually. Things," Stampfel explained. Although he admits that his first few leather products are rough, he has been perfecting his skills.

On March 14, 2020, Stampfel took his last wine tour before the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to shut down, as he initially hoped this would only last a few months. Soon, it was obvious that the shutdown would not end soon, but it was not until a friend of his asked to buy one of his leather handbags that he considered turning his hobby into a business. Then she shared it on the Facebook group, Stampfel said that he immediately received messages from five women who wanted him to make his own custom handbag.

Subsequently, Stampfel decided to start another business. "Fortunately, I have a super supportive wife," he said with a smile. He named his new company Sophisticate Supply with the slogan: "Exquisite Life". His mission is to create high-quality, hand-made leather products at a more affordable price. "Life exquisiteness is a simple way of saying that customized leather products don't have to be within reach of everyone," Stampfel said.

Since he started, he has created more than 1,000 leather products, including storage trays, coasters, mouse pads, bags, hats, keychains, sunglasses cases and bookmarks. He also created customized items with different hardware, leather colors, thread colors, and number of pockets.

Image courtesy of Sophisticate Supply

Stampfel started selling products in face-to-face markets such as the West End Farmers Market in September 2020. In the end, he sold more products in one day than in the previous month.

"I got home and I thought,'That's it! This is face-to-face. This is a face-to-face meeting,'" Stampfel said excitedly. He found that customers like to see these items with their own eyes, and often ask questions about the leather making process-he is very happy to share with everyone.

There are two main types of leather he uses, vegetable tanned leather and chrome tanned leather, and their production time and price are different. Vegetable tanned leather is tanned with natural materials such as leaves or bark, and the production time is 25-45 days. Chrome tanned leather is tanned with chrome salts and can be made within 24-48 hours, making it more affordable. It also tends to be softer and more flexible. Stampfel explained that real leather is actually considered a leather pressboard because it is made from leather waste mixed together and then coated.

Leather products also vary from grain to grain, which is the skin level of animals (usually cows). Full-grain is the uppermost layer of the skin and is also the strongest. It usually has natural changes, and if you look closely, you can see things like fat wrinkles, insect bites, and scars. Topgrain is the middle layer of the skin, and the bottom layer is called splits, just like suede. Unless an artificial coating is added, it has no particles.

The seams of the items being made are glued together to hold them together. For hand-sewn items, the holes are hand-punched with stitching iron. The iron can have one or six teeth, and different teeth are used according to the size of the article being made. After sewing the item, the end of the thread will be burnt. According to Stampfel, an edger, sandpaper, some type of polishing oil, and a lot of patience can then be used to keep the edges rough or finished. Some products are sewn with a sewing machine.

Stampfel has always paid attention to details and planning, but as a former police officer, he never considered himself creative. "Before I start to do this, I will not say that I am creative. I will not say that most law enforcement signs are creativity. When you are law enforcement, there must be a gray area, but there is a very black and white, Yes or no way of doing things. We do have time to come up with creative solutions to certain problems, but making purple leather bags or designing handbags and adding decorative stitching to them is not what I would say five years ago,' Oh yes, I can see myself doing this'," Stampfel said. 

Stampfel says that the most difficult part of his job is figuring out which products are most popular with customers, because it tends to change a lot. He also created a custom name for the merchandise he sells, such as the King Street Market handbag, and he said it might be a challenge to come up with this name.

Stampfel is from New York, has lived in Virginia since 2005, and has lived in the Alexandria area since 2017. He quickly took root in the local small business community and likes to support local craft beer like Port City Brewing Co. He even made six bottles of leather straps with brass rivets, drink covers, coasters printed with the words "local drinks", and keychains sewn with beer bottle caps. 

Stampfel has big dreams for Sophisticate Supply and hopes to open a store on King Street one day to share his knowledge and passion for leather goods and local businesses with a wider audience.

Currently, you can buy his products through Made in ALX or SophisticateSupply.com. If you want to see Stampfel's work for yourself, please go to the Made in ALX holiday pop-up store in 1 Wales Alley, Old Town.

Image courtesy of Sophisticate Supply

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