‘I want to give back’: How one Elm Mott business owner is helping his community one belt at a time

ELM MOTT, Texas (KWTX) – One local business owner out of Elm Mott is using his business and skills for a good cause, making hundreds of belts and dog collars to be donated back to the community.

Aaron Heizer is the owner of Maker’s Leather Supply, a store for everyone from professional leather workers to those just getting started.

According to Heizer, all of this started back in 2014 when he decided to turn one of his hobbies into a business.

“In the first few years I was actually doing more custom leather work, and this was just kind of something happening in the background… but as it got bigger, we moved it to the forefront of our efforts,” Heizer said.

Now he does everything from selling supplies, trade shows, in-person classes, and even YouTube tutorials.

Heizer shared that, “honestly it’s my most favorite part of this job is getting to teach people something I can help them grow in and do better.”

But he also uses his business to help others.

“I always look for a way to give back, we’ve done several fundraisers in the past for veterans, organizations, and things like that,” he shared. “But one of the things I wanted to do was bring leather workers together for some sort of a cause for folks that are less fortunate.”

And at the Heart of Texas Leather Show in Waco last weekend, they used their booth to make belts and dog collars out of leather that was all donated to them by other businesses.

“Folks could come to our booth and make up a belt and put it in the pile and we got a big pile of belts,” Heizer explained. “Already made there’s probably about 150 belts, and then maybe 50 dog collars… by the time it’s done those two numbers will at least be doubled.”

Every single belt will be given to someone who for whatever reason might not be able to afford one, and every dog collar to a shelter dog without a home.

He shared that “my business and what we run here it’s not about the profit. I love the relationships we’ve made and I love the journey that we’re on you know, and I just… I wanna give back.”

If you missed their most recent trade show, but still want to make a belt or dog collar, Heizer says they have plenty of leftover leather and people are more than welcome to reach out to the store about coming in to make one.

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