CHARITON, Iowa – A small business in Chariton’s town square started out as a side hustle. The woman behind Jill’s Homestead is making sure people are properly accessorized with luxury leather.

“I’ve always been a fan of leather, just being a horse girl and working with saddles and bridles and things like that,” Jill Dobson, owner of Jill’s Homestead, said. “So, I’ve always liked leather. I always like wearing chaps and things like that with the horses. I’ve always been interested in it, but I’d never actually worked with it directly. So it was just kind of something that I wanted to try for fun that just kind of took off.”

It took off when Dobson started making earrings in 2018.

“And folks kept wanting to buy them from me, asking me where they could get them,” Dobson reflected. “And so finally one day I just posted some on social media and sold out immediately and started making leather earrings on the side.”

Two years later, it turned into making totes.

“Fringe, no fringe, cow hide, all smooth leather,” Dobson said while holding up one of her products, “lots of options with all of our bags.”

While the storefront and workshop are based in Chariton, Dobson says her business has seen the most growth through its online presence and social media.

“The majority of our customers are more of the western aficionados wearing cowboy boots and all of those types of things,” Dobson said. “So mostly a lot of rural people that really appreciate those finer things as well, but maybe don’t want to purchase thousands of dollars in one bag.”

She credits the craftsmanship of her handmade products for helping spread the word. Since 2020, Jill’s Homestead has made more than 20,000 bags for people across the country.

“We have people that come from all over the Midwest,” Dobson said. “We’ve had people come as far as south Texas, Kentucky, all over the place, 8-10 hour drive to come see us here.”

Jill says she couldn’t do it without her three full-time employees.

“They’ve been with me since the basement days we call it, when we worked out of my house and we were still working in the basement,” Dobson said. “Which, believe it or not, we were doing more production then than we do now.”

Producing high-quality purses means sourcing high-quality materials.

“Most of our hides come through U.S. suppliers, but they’re from Colombia and Brazil,” Dobson explained.

Dobson also travels to tanneries in Tuscany, Italy, for leather.

“It’s heartier, it’s different, has a different texture, has a different smell sometimes,” Dobsons said, “but it’s a much nicer leather than a lot of other brands use.”

Luxury leather goods made in small-town Iowa. An unexpected small business that has led to unexpected opportunities for its owner.

“I never would have expected that I would be at D.C., at the Capitol, discussing small business,” Dobson said. “I never expected to have a shop here and have a storefront, employees. I really never thought those were things that were in the cards. They just kind of happened over time. And it made sense, so I just kept saying yes to things that made sense and here we are.”

You can check out Jill’s Homestead products on the website or Facebook page.