RAMSEUR, N.C. (WGHP) – The moment you walk inside Tim Cox’s warehouse, leather surrounds you.

Belts and bags hang on racks, sheets of it are draped over railings or rolled and stacked on shelves.

The smell of leather fills the air.

After all, there is more than half a million square feet of it inside the building.

Leather was the largest industry in America in the 1900s and remains in high demand today.

“We sell to people recovering books, from the tack industry, from the holster industry. People making holsters and knife shields and that kind of stuff,” says Cox.

There is a good chance the leather goods you own are made out of hides sold at Zack White Leather Company in Ramseur.

“We carry elk. We carry bison. We have deer and along with the cow and a horse,” said Cox.

They also sell horsehide, rawhide, steer hide and suede.

Tim hand cuts, designs and creates just about anything out of leather.

His work is done on antique-looking machines and with his hands.

“Your hands get dirty,” said Cox.

There is a lot of dyeing that goes into making sure the leather is the right color for a project.

Tim also repairs leather items, such as handbags.

He creates custom pieces for customers and supplies leather and tools to businesses and wholesalers.

“There are only a few places in the U.S. that you can walk into a store and find this variety,” said Cox.

The company has been around since 1933.

In addition to leather and suede, you can purchase leather tools, conditioners and dyes for beginners all the way up to professionals.

“If you buy stuff online you don’t know what you’re buying. Leather is something you have to look at feel and touch and they can do that here,” said Cox.

If you have a project in mind, Tim and his team will cut the pattern, provide the leather and you can put it together.

Tim has customers who come from all over the U.S.

He considers those who travel within 150 miles locals.

Some people stop in just to check out the store located at 809 Moffitt Sreet in Ramseur.

Tim is currently hiring. He is looking for help in his shipping department.