About Leather Soul
Follow us on twitter: @leathersoul
History
Leather Soul opened its doors in Downtown, Honolulu back in November 2004. Its main goal was to provide businessmen in Honolulu, a comfortable, classy store for all their footwear needs.
In August 2005, Leather Soul’s second location was opened in Waikiki, Honolulu. Specializing in Alden and Edward Green footwear, Leather Soul’s Waikiki Office was an intimate haven away from the hustle and bustle of Kalakaua Avenue.
January 2008 marked the opening of Leather Soul’s first location in the Royal Hawaiian Center. A little over 2 years later in March 2010, Leather Soul moved to its current location overlooking Kalakaua Avenue.
Leather Soul’s motto is, “From Our Soul to your Sole.” We strive to provide a personal touch and create relationships with our clientele. We are the anti-Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. We are shoe-lovers first and foremost. Thank you for helping us grow and being a part of our journey, step by step!
- – -
Leather Soul Staff
- – -
Thomas Park : Founder, Owner
Tom’s love of shoes began at the age of 5 when he was given his first pair of Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes. Since then, he has gone through hundreds of shoes and his current collection includes about 40 pairs of Aldens, 10 Edward Greens, and a pair of bespoke Gaziano & Girlings.
After graduating from Iolani School and the University of Hawaii, with 9 months at Konan University in Kobe, Japan, Tom has worked in luxury retail sales and management, finance with a major Wall Street firm, and in the luxury automobile industry before deciding to follows his dream and open Leather Soul.
Tom enjoys playing tennis, has an interest in watches and automobiles, loves to travel, and loves watching University of Hawaii sports and his beloved Atlanta Braves. His favorite activity however is spending quality time with his Son, Jaeden.
Tom was named the US Small Business Administration’s 2008 Young Entreprenuer of the Year for the State of Hawaii.
- – -
Takuya Hoshino : Manager
Takuya joined Leather Soul with a proven track record of successful sales experience in Tokyo, JAPAN. A graduate of the very prestigious KEIO University in Tokyo, the ever studious Takuya has recently passed the rigorous Certified Public Accountant examination.
Having spent his teen years in New York, Takuya is well versed in English as well as his native language, Japanese.
Takuya’s kind personality and hard working nature makes him a great person to deal with. His shoe collection is growing day by day and includes several pairs of Aldens, Edward Greens, and Gaziano & Girlings.
- – -
Laurence Oshiro
Laurence joined Leather Soul back in 2005 to help man the first Waikiki store. With a proven record of very successful sales in high-end fashion houses and jewelry boutiques, Laurence’s extensive experience is an asset to Leather Soul.
A “workaholic,” Laurence enjoys spending any free time he has with his wife and family. He enjoys traveling to Korea and Japan. Laurence’s favorite meal is Korean style yakiniku.
Laurence’s calm and relaxed demeanor helps to make working with him a comfortable and pleasant experience. He is also well versed in the Japanese language.
- – -
Ken Morimoto
Ken brings years of experience to our staff as the newest member of the Leather Soul family. His experience in customer service will be an asset to Leather Soul.
Since 1991, Ken has worked overseas in Japan and Thailand, as a director and consultant for companies dealing with Japanese companies such as Toyota. Most recently Ken was a top salesperson at Tourneau.
Ken’s calm, sincere personality and dedication to keeping in touch with his clients are his best attributes. Having lived in Japan for many years, Ken is also fluent in the Japanese language.
- – -
Kuninori Kiyono
Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Kuni has been living in Hawaii for about 10 years now. A graduate of Nihon University in Tokyo, Kuni has a wealth of experience in sales and management, specializing in leathergoods, jewelry, and high end watches.
When not hard at work, Kuni enjoys spending time with his son and wife. His hobbies include tennis and swimming. Kuni also has a passion for Native American art and visits reservations to meet with friends and to learn about the Native American culture.
- – -
Shipping/Return Policy
We are not primarily an e-commerce business. However, we are more than happy to take your orders over the phone or via email, but please understand and agree with our mail order sales policy first.
1) Shipping to the Mainland US is $30.00/pair via USPS Priority Mail or $45.00/pair via USPS Express Mail. To place an order, please call us at (808)922-0777 or email us at info@leathersoulhawaii.com. You may also send us a fax with your billing and shipping information to (808)922-0779.
2) We prefer to sell to customers who are familiar with their own sizing. Customers who are first time buyers of a particular brand, please contact us for sizing information. If we do not feel comfortable with sizing issues, we reserve the right to turn down your order.
3) Returned shoes must be in brand new, unworn condition. Shell Cordovan shoes must not be creased.
4) Return shipping is the customer’s responsibility.
5) Original shipping cost will NOT be refunded back to the customer.
6) We do not accept returns or refunds on any MTO or special order item.
7) All returns/refunds must be made within 30 days of original purchase.
- – -
Sizing Recommendations
In this day and age of the internet, sometimes our online customers forget we are a brick and mortar store, first and foremost. We prefer to recommend a size based on personal fittings and learning from each customer how they prefer to fit in their shoes.
Because it is very difficult to recommend a size without seeing a customer in person, we will not recommend a size over email or phone UNLESS you can provide well fitting sizes of brands of shoes we currently offer ourselves. Just because you wear a size 10 in Nikes doesn’t mean we can relate that to a pair of Edward Greens. Thank you for your understanding.
- – -
Made-To-Order/Special Order/Pre-Order Deposits
1/2 Non-Refundable deposit is required on ALL MTO/Special Orders. A $100 Non-Refundable deposit is required for pre-orders.
- – -
February 20, 2007
A message from Tom…
Aloha friends and thank you for visiting our humble home on the world wide web.
My goal is and always will be, to provide a special service to my clients. I am in the business of making life long friends. I am not here just to sell you shoes. I strive to gain your trust, meet and go beyond your expectations, and share my love of shoes and fashion with you.
We at Leather Soul are not here to be in a battle of price with you. There are many other retailers both online and locally that will be more than happy to give you a deal. On the other hand, we are here for you. Call us, email us, visit us at our store. We would love to meet and “talk shoes” with you. We want to get to know you. I will try my best to offer you a fair price, but the real value is the relationship I can offer.
I would only like to ask one favor of you…please respect us as well. Please do not use us against other retailers. Please help us keep the integrity of our name by respecting what we can offer you. Many of our offerings are unique and made with passion and offered with pride. Please do not hurt our integrity, or the integrity of other retailers, by pinning us against eachother.
If you are looking for a deal, please go elsewhere. If you are looking for a great product at a fair price with an honest relationship, give us a try.
Aloha and Mahalo,
Tom Park