American Bench Craft

Reading, MA — Reading Memorial High School graduates Jason and Chris Angelini opened American Bench Craft in 2014 out of their parents’ basement. The Angelini brothers’ leather products have been sold to 42 countries and every state in the US, and they hope to expand their local market into the holiday season.

Jason Angelini graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in mechanical engineering and worked at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford as a civilian engineer. He then joined the Army National Guard before starting to talk about opening a business with his brother, Chris.

Chris Angelini went to Hofstra University for film production and graduated in 2010. He spent a couple of years as a locations manager in New York City, and eventually moved over to marketing in 2012. It was at his new job in the marketing firm where he learned how to do more online and digital marketing.

As Jason and Chris began discussing opening their own business, their backgrounds matched perfectly. Jason’s background in design and engineering and Chris’s background in marketing would become essential to starting their business.

A wallet that had fallen apart on Jason sparked their idea to sell leather products in 2013. They got their start through the use of a Kickstarter campaign, for which they could create a video about a product idea and put it out there and do pre-sales online. This would help the Angelini brothers to see if there was an actual market for the products they had hoped to sell.

At the beginning of 2014, Jason worked on building the supply chain process as Chris developed their video. Upon a launch through Kickstarter in March 2014, American Bench Craft sold $20 thousand worth of wallets in 30 days. Immediately after, they fulfilled each order and started solidifying their business.

At first, Chris and Jason spent most of their time trying to distribute their product as far as possible. American Bench Craft spent the 2014 holiday season in their parents’ unheated garage, shipping their products all over the country.

They rented space in the basement of a Reading office building, where they stayed for several years. However, the Angelini brothers saw a downturn in sales toward the end of 2015 as American Bench Craft’s products were mainly being sold by large retailers in catalogs. The success of their initial Kickstarter campaign had sustained its momentum for about nine months, but Chris and Jason began finding it hard to make ends meet.

“About 18 months in, we realized that we had forgotten about the whole local base, and we started focusing on telling the people in our hometown, our state, and New England,” said Jason. “We realized how much more appreciative and excited people were to get a product that was made right down the street. You really realize the benefit of local promotion.”

The challenges they faced propelled them to focus on building their own brand, selling themselves, and selling through their own network. In 2017, American Bench Craft broke into the corporate gifting market. 

No longer in catalogs, American Bench Craft’s products were being bought and sold as gifts for local and national companies. Many companies began co-branding with American Bench Craft, as the companies they sold to wanted to demonstrate their commitment to American businesses.

Currently operating out of manufacturing space in Wilmington, American Bench Craft’s signature items are their wallets, which started the company. However, they see the most demand for their hand-made belts. They also sell other small leather goods, including dog collars. They most commonly sell leather coasters, key fobs, and knit caps with leather patches within the corporate gift space.

All American Bench Craft products are made in and shipped from Wilmington, where they have been since 2018 and are made to order. The most significant portion of their sales come from Massachusetts and New England. They are also primarily involved in gifting for local beer companies, including Sam Adams and Narragansett Beer.

Chris and Jason wish to continue building their direct-to-consumer base through their online sales, as many of their product ideas come from customers. “It’s more enjoyable selling directly to our customers and engaging with them,” said Chris.

The Angelini brothers are looking forward to continuing expanding their operations with a specific focus on selling through their website, so they can be the ones to provide customer support and engage with their customer base, whom they value greatly. As the holiday season approaches, American Bench Craft will offer a 15% discount with the promotional code ShopLocal through their website, running through January 31, 2023.