Bennie and Velma

Out of this long and honorable tradition came the Looper Belt Co., Oklahoma City crafters of fine leather products since the early 1930s. Moving from Tennessee to join his sister and brother-in-law in their rapidly growing business of creating leather watchbands, Bennie Looper devoted himself to learning the craft. Four years later he met Velma, the love of his life. On the day of their marriage in 1938, they launched their own successful leather goods store in the back of a barn. But their venture was not without setbacks. First, World War II beckoned, and Bennie and Velma had to warehouse their machinery, vowing to resume their enterprise after the war. Then a fire swept through the warehouse, destroying everything. Not to be deterred, however, Velma managed to purchase all-new tools and equipment before Bennie’s return, and their business began again.

Supply and Demand

In the meantime, demand for fine leather belts and watchbands had heightened. By 1949 the Looper Belt Co. was an expanding business in need of more space. The couple purchased a store at NW 39th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue—an excellent location highlighted by one of the first neon signs in Oklahoma City. The sign proclaimed their dedication to quality, which has remained the company’s defining strategy for nearly six decades. Looper’s base of loyal, satisfied customers continued to grow steadily. By 1963, the company again needed larger accommodations. This time, Bennie purchased a tract of land and built his own facility on South Prospect, carrying over one-thousand national accounts and adding ladies’ handbags to his product line.

 

People who know Looper, know it as

a company with the highest standards.

Over sixty years of quality and integrity

have built this reputation.

 

Resilience

Over the next two decades, the Looper brand flourished under the leadership of Bennie and Velma’s children. However, the days of big retail chains were ahead and they would make times hard for Danny and Suzanne, as for other small businesses. Looper’s handmade ladies’ handbags were the first casualty. In the American way of resourcefulness and resilience, the Looper family discovered a new niche market for fine leather  products. Danny, who served as a local reserve police officer, began crafting items to use on the job: holsters for his guns and cases for his badge. As Suzanne embraced Danny’s ingenuity, word spread and members of many law enforcement agencies began ordering custom leather items for their own use. Danny’s son, Bart, married in 2003 and he and his wife, Lisa, took the helm of the Looper family legacy with a vision that would take their brand to the next level.

Reputation

At the store, old customers returned, reminiscing about a Looper belt or watchband purchased some sixty years earlier. Their beloved items were finally wearing out and they wanted to replace them with new ones of equal quality and durability. Bart recognized that what he was witnessing was more than nostalgia; it was assurance that the Looper brand offered something valuable and unique in the industry: fine craftsmanship in every detail—from choice of raw material to consistently excellent handwork. Bart envisioned a new product line: high-quality corporate gifts that would suit the most discriminating taste, last a lifetime and speak highly of the gift-giver as well as of the Looper name.

Today, Looper Brand is a thriving example of spirit, industry and tenacity, still producing with the quality and craftsmanship on which Bennie and Velma built their reputation and continuing to satisfy customers who demand fine leather goods that will serve them for years.

 

Quality Is Our Legacy