Frankly I bet many supply dealers would probably rather stay home then pack up a trailer, drive across country, rent motel rooms for multiple days for multiple people and go to a convention. No one is getting rich or that much ahead. I am thankful they all chose to attend. Great to see Groeny trying things to help customers and their business . So I don’t blame them for not going but it is good customer relations to go.

I do not see a push on coyotes from this. I would guess they are trying to recover money from the coyotes they had in stock since the crash of the coyote market. It seems like Groney and his Chinaman partner had 200,000 tanned coyotes they were going to put on a sale that was cancelled by the Chinese Government. Did any one hear him say he was needing coyotes in the last two or three years? The plan was to take over the coyote world market, then the fur trade.

Any trapper who sees this as a negative thing, has GFW derangement syndrome.

This will be a good thing for the fur industry and hopefully profitable for GFW. I'm glad to see them taking the bull by the horns. GFW - please run your routes a little further west in Kansas so I can sell you some fur!

Good luck getting rid of all those tanned coyotes they got stuck with. Don’t know if this has anything to do with a market?

Like the Chinamen that got stuck with all those high priced mink coats?

Personally, I think ANY fur being utilized and worn domestically is a PLUS.

I can’t tell you how many people (women usually, but occasionally men) that I’ve thanked quickly for wearing fur.

Airports, cities, dinners, rodeos, etc.

Most just say “thank you”, and that is fine, but a few stop and tell the story about how it came about, like their husband caught the bobcats, or the beaver used came off of their ranch. They are usually proud and a tad bit defiant to anti fur sentiments

For anyone to step up and produce something that has wild fur on it, or any fur for that matter, is great in my opinion.

We personally have a lot of items made from fur;

Bed spreads, coats. jackets, head bands, and collars on coats. I even had a size 1 mink coat made for my granddaughter.

Not bragging, just making the point that we love fur, and are proud to wear it.

I’ve had a ‘Fur Fashion Show’ at Coyote Days every year, and have attended conventions that have done the same.

People (including trappers) love it, and they get to see things made out of OUR fur.

There are a lot of people making decent money producing fur products, and I cannot think of a more noble way to make a living or supplement an income.

If you don’t want to buy or wear fur yourself, at least recommend to an interested party to try a garment on, or buy a fur pillow. I’ve watched collections grow in a few years.

It’s just a start, but I think Growenwald’s are on to something

Have a good evening!

John

Good post John!

Maybe Stormy Kromer will follow suit and start using real fur on their Trapper hats. Seems like a slap in the face to use faux fur on a trapper hat.

It is not that I do not like the idea of Groney using fur, I just don't see a coyote boom starting. I would bet he is using coyotes fur that he has owned since before the coyote crash. When you have 200,000 tanned coyotes with $100+ tied up in them and you can not sell them, you have to do something.

You most likely are right. But still I smile. Because 200,000 coyotes are just that. 200,000. How many trims does that result in? 200,000, 4, 6?

IF Groenwold is successful in this endeavor, they WILL at some point need more coyotes, no?

Will the coyote market surge THIS year, because of this? Probably not. But next year, or the year after?

I'm sorry, but the people poopooing this idea remind me SO much of liberal democrats....

But but but how does this help ME right NOW? With absolutely zero regard for how it can help the industry as a whole in the future.

YES, Groenwold is 100% doing this to make a profit. PROBABLY, they're doing it to make money off of pelts they already hold.
But SO WHAT if doing so creates a market that never was there before, in future seasons?

The market was there before, and it died. Have you ever seen a fad die and come back win a few years? I just don't see this being the saving grace some think it is. They reason the coyote market got so high was that Groney and company were trying to corner it. They bought all those coyotes thinking they could peddle them in China tanned and control the market. They bought the coyotes, had them tanned and could not sell them. It has nothing to do with now. It is just being realistic. How many years does it take for a fad to come back in, if it ever does.

Depends upon what celebrity is seen wearing it and whether the fans of that said celebrity bite on his or her choice to wear it. Get a musician,rapper,singer whatever wearing something cool made out of real fur and we are off to the races. Period. Look at where our society has gone these days-who would ever have thought that fur would be banned in places because of a bunch of whining people that are paid to do the whining. Think about that for a second-yet society rides right along and does what they are told or lead to believe is bad. Not trying to get off topic etc.. but I used to do skinning demos on high school for outdoor living classes. Now a days teachers/news/social media all teach our kids all the bad things that they should dislike. People can't make up their own minds/decisions for themselves anymore. It really sad but true that in todays world people don't utilize more of natural products like fur instead of plastics/synthetics.

I too am like John Graham-when I see someone wearing fur I always make a point of saying good stuff or beautiful trim on your parka etc..

There was a fad. They moved to fake fur fad dies out. They were also $1,500 coats. Once those with that much to spend on a coat had them the market was over. $450 price point will open the market to more people not willing to spend 1500. If they are well made can handle farm life and hold up not just for wearing out to dinner once a week, and cut to fit my wifes short torso I would buy her one at 450. But it's also something I would prefer her be able to try on and see if she likes it before buying it because to me $450 is still quite a but to spend on an every day jacket.

Just don't understand people that are down on any type of fur sales and call themselves trappers. People wearing fur will make others see it and want fur also.

Guess Im lucky to live in a cold climate where people still use and also wear fur and the market for it is pretty steady.More of a utility thing but fur always looks great (fashonable) when nice skins are used.

Agreed Boco me too

I think we are beyond the “fad fur market”. If anyone is waiting for a “fad fur market” to come along anytime soon, in my opinion we are going to be waiting for quite some time. I don’t like to use terms like “movements” but wearing fur must become part of everyday life for folks that live in climates where it is realistic to wear fur if we want a sustaining fur market. But before I label fur as a northern climate item, I want to share that I have sold many novelty style fur hats to the west coast, deep south, and on the east coast where the climate is still mild.

Contrary to what we hear from the anti’s, people like fur. Fur is in more demand than we think. From a previous post I made, I mentioned we as trappers have a hard time showcasing our product in the US. Until we figure out a way to show our product more, we are still going to be sitting here hoping for a fad fur market to come along. The old ways of selling to overseas markets are not gone yet, but I can see the end of that road getting closer every year.

Is the coyote market coming back with GFW marketing a parka? Most likely not, but I for one hope it spurs interest and brings the market up enough to be able to move skins at a steady pace, but I look at it as another fur product out in the market for potential consumers to see.

I will end with these thoughts. We need a sustaining fur market that doesn’t rely on overseas markets or fads that are short lived. Chances are this isn’t a new idea; I hope it isn’t because we have wasted quite a bit of time already if it is.
We need to come up with ways to lift the North American Fur market to a level where people are more able to see and purchase fur items.

I am open to ideas. A good start is the recent uptick in new furriers trying to market their catches by sewing fur items and selling at local shows or online,
GFW introducing a fur trimmed parka, trappers selling tanned goods to friends, neighbors, and local shops.

All these things help and add up in the end.

I might sound overly optimistic, but when someone loves something so much and fears the end of the road is getting closer, you must think differently and try anything to make it work.

If you know a little about the more recent history of the fur trade(early to mid 20th century in North America,)you will know that every town and neighborhood in the cities had a local furrier (or even two or three) that made fur products for the local people.
These so called "Mom and Pop " fur stores are what pushed fur prices to high levels since people were exposed to fur products daily loved what they saw and wanted it and knew where to get it.
This is still true today with small fur buisnesses-they boom for the same reason-just not enough people going to fur school anymore to learn the trade.So not enough of these buisnesses operating.
Where they do operate they do very well and most have difficulty meeting up with demand.

I definitely know what you mean about the last sentence. Demand has been heavy and at times hard to keep up for me being a part-time fur shop.

"If you make it, they will buy!"