<![CDATA[BKB Leather - Updates]]>Wed, 05 Feb 2025 15:53:20 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[Meet Mike and Attend Fundraiser for BKB Rebuilding Efforts]]>Tue, 15 Aug 2023 00:39:45 GMThttp://bkbleather.com/updates/meet-mike-and-attend-fundraiser-for-bkb-rebuilding-efforts
Mike Dever has graciously offered to use his North Lawrence meet and greet party as a fundraiser for our fire recovery. The party will be held at Johnny's Tavern North on September 5th from 5:30-7:30.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-mike-and-attend-fundraiser-for-bkb-rebuilding-efforts-tickets-695673567367​
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<![CDATA[Day 7... I think...]]>Sun, 13 Aug 2023 20:26:22 GMThttp://bkbleather.com/updates/day-7-i-thinkIt's been a long week!
We have been given the go-ahead to start cleaning up. We ended up needing to have two different insurance inspectors. The news was not as good as we were hoping. We have some coverage for the building and some of the contents but little to none for the equipment and the customer items that were destroyed. That part is going to be a long process.

A roll-off for metal has arrived and we're getting a trash roll-off on Tuesday. At some point in the next week we will be moving the front building to the other side of the driveway to clear the way for the back two buildings to be torn down. We'll also be setting up a staging area to clean and refurbish the few items we're going to attempt to salvage. Keep checking back for announcements about work parties.

Again, we'd like to thank all our friends who have come by with food, instruments, hugs and kind words and those who have donated to our Gofundme (www.gofundme.com/f/fire-recovery-for-bkb-leather). As Bruce likes to say, "Without you, there is no us."
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<![CDATA[Our friends and customers are the best!]]>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 05:00:00 GMThttp://bkbleather.com/updates/our-friends-and-customers-are-the-best
A friend of the shop set up a Gofundme to help with our recovery. So incredibly kind!
We've also heard from a few people who'd like to organize benefit shows for us. Information will be posted here as soon as those plans are in place.
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<![CDATA[Day after the fire]]>Wed, 09 Aug 2023 00:51:23 GMThttp://bkbleather.com/updates/day-after-the-fireIt felt like a bad dream first thing in the morning. But the smell of the still smoldering roof beams quickly dispelled that fantasy.
We started the day by prying open the drawers of Bruce's old rolltop desk looking for the business' financial records and the family's important papers.
The sheer magnitude of the destruction rolls over us in waves but we try to stay positive by looking toward the future and celebrating the small victories.

The editor of the LJ World stopped by for an interview and wrote a story about the fire. Customers, neighbors and former employees popped in throughout the day. Bruce says he hasn't been hugged so much in his entire life!

An insurance inspector evaluated the shop early in the afternoon. He was daunted by the task and decided that he'll need to call in another inspector. So we're still in a holding pattern. 
It's not terribly likely we'll be able to salvage many of our machines but Austin and Glen drenched them all in WD-40 and wrapped them up to give us a fighting chance of saving some of them. Now the shop really looks like a scene in a horror movie!

Thanks to all for the support and love.
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<![CDATA[Important announcement:]]>Mon, 07 Aug 2023 05:00:00 GMThttp://bkbleather.com/updates/important-announcementIn the early morning hours of August 7th BKB Leather suffered a catastrophic fire. Our shop is a total loss. We are going through the process of fire inspectors and insurance adjusters to come up with a plan for our next steps. It's going to be a long road but we will come back. Updates will be posted here and on our Facebook page.
Thank you for your patience and support.
​-BKB
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