LITTLE FALLS — A love of horses, a gentle nudge and a bit of impulsiveness led Maryrose Capko down a new road focused on leather. After suffering an aneurysm that doctors considered a near-death experience, Capko was advised that she would need to take a break from teaching to recover.
The gentle nudge came when Capko entered the leather shop of Ted Borgheiinck in Randall.
“(Borgheiinck said), ‘Hey, you want to learn how to do this?’” Capko said.
Capko said Borgheiinck wanted to share his knowledge with someone brave enough to just say, “Sure.”
That is what Capko did. She worked alongside Borgheiinck for two years in his shop, helping him and learning along the way with projects big and small. Eventually, she built a saddle for her own horse. Once Capko felt confident going out on her own, she bought out a few leather shops and opened Little Falls-based Latigo Leather & Saddle Shop in 1996.
Today, Capko spends part of her week teaching computer science classes in the Albany Area Public Schools system.
“After a day with the kids, it’s nice to come out [to the leather shop] and have an hour,” Capko said. “If I’m out here for multiple days in a row, then it becomes more of a chore.”
Having in-floor heat throughout her shop allows Capko to work year-round, making custom orders for her clients on her own time.
“If they can describe it well, I can make it,” Capko said.
Capko made the drive to Mount Hope, Ohio, to buy her new Adler sewing machine. This crucial move would become one of the keys to Capko’s success. These machines are manufactured in Germany and widely known for their high quality and durability for working with leather goods, Capko said.
Shop walls lined with supplies and tools allow Capko to sew, cut, sand, stamp, condition and repair leather goods of all varieties. She has a running list of clients’ projects that generally come with a four-month waiting period.
“I’m not expensive because my clients have to have patience,” Capko said.
Cabinets, shop tables, and saw horses equipped with stirrups, saddle trees, buckles, snaps, conchos, and other hardware give Capko the capability to make and repair a vast variety of projects.
Capko orders her leather from a leather shop in Ohio, stating she has never had a problem getting exactly what she wants. Her leather is delivered by the roll, varying in color, thickness and grain. Capko said she prefers to sew all of her projects with nylon thread, as it is far more durable than cotton thread, which wears with time. While her work can be tedious, it all just takes time, she said. A leather belt will take her one to three hours to complete, she said. Punching holes, lacing the straps, adding the hardware, stitching the edge, adding the backing and adding custom monogrammed touches must all be done before a belt is complete.
Capko said fatigue and frustration can be challenges she needs to overcome some days, but her calm demeanor reminds her that time is her friend.
“It’ll be here tomorrow; nothing has walked out of my shop yet,” she said with a smile.
Capko is currently working on a wrap-around leather skirt using leather a customer harvested and tanned himself. Other current endeavors include a handful of wallets, saddle repairs, a custom knife sheath and a leather jacket restoration project. Some pieces are meant to hold onto their heritage, she explained, so Capko spends extra time and planning for projects of that nature.
Capko grew up with horses as a child, and while attending the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph to get her teaching degree, she participated in the horse program offered there at the time.
“Most of my life has been a full circle,” Capko said. “I was born in Little Falls, and at age 2, we moved to the cities. (Before moving), we lived on 140th Street, the other side of Flensburg, and I now, live on 140th Street this side of Flensburg.”
For two summers during college, Capko worked down the road from where she now lives at Circle R Ranch near Long Prairie. She recalls the owners, Aunt Viv and Uncle Dal, having an old Landis sewing machine in a grain shed.
“I never thought when I saw that machine that I would have ever owned it or used it for a minute,” Capko said. “My home economics teacher would be shocked to know I did anything with a sewing machine.”
Turns out, the shop owner, Borgheiinck, who guided Capko had bought that Landis sewing machine and, in turn, sold it to Capko. She said she did not hold onto it long, as it had a hand crank style where the leather needed to be guided through, so it did not work well for her.
Capko has six horses of her own on her property. Most of her horses are quarter horses with the exception of one golden horse, also known as an Akhal-Teke, one of the oldest breeds worldwide. She has a few horses that are not yet trained, and she has a couple that are retired. Her horses are the reason she got into leatherwork.
“It keeps me in horses even when I’m past the age of wanting to go on great big adventures,” Capko said. “I go out to Medora, (South Dakota),and ride, but I don’t really take the risks and stuff that I used to.”
She often gets asked why she does not show her horses, and her response is polite and to the point: She simply does not have an interest in showing.
Teaching, spending time with her grandchildren, traveling, riding her horses and running her leather business works well for Capko because she said she likes variety in her life and keeping busy.
After losing a son almost 15 years ago, Capko went back to school, earned her counseling license and has since started two grief support groups for bereaved parents. She felt the calling to do so after discovering there was not much offered in her area.
Capko brings her leather creations to the craft fair in Long Prairie each year to display the extent of her talents. It gives people a place to start if they have a project in mind since there are not many people around the area who do what she does.
Capko’s leatherwork stems from a fondness of horses and has evolved into something she is very proud of today. Pride and history encompass her workspace, as her grandparents’ corner cabinets hold not only her tools, but also her horse figurine collection. On the wall is a plaque that says, “Live to ride; ride to live.”
“The first horse I ever rode belonged to my aunt, Gladys, who lived in the Smokey Mountains,” Capko said. “After her passing, I was gifted her boots, with the condition that I would wear them.”
The problem is, Capko said, her aunt had little feet, and Capko not so much. Instead, the boots are on display, another piece of leather bringing her joy and reinstating the gentler pace of life.
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