Even on lazy weekday mornings in Old Town Scottsdale, a steady stream of passersby trickle into the furniture showroom/gallery called Buffalo Collection.
Once through the door, they don’t leave.
Well, not anytime soon.
They’ve stumbled upon the golden ticket to a sensory Disneyland of contemporary Western culture. You can see the realization light up visitors’ faces within seconds of crossing the showroom threshold. And so they tarry among the textures, colors and artistry of a curated collection unlike any other in Scottsdale.
That is more than fine with owners Michael and Laura Levenberg. Their business is a labor of love, and the couple relish showing off the pieces and telling origin tales.
Buffalo-leather furniture is the spine line—the hump, if you will—of Buffalo Collection. Leather of the bison, or American buffalo, differs from cowhide in thickness and flexibility, and its grain shows off the animal’s widely spaced fibers.
Because of buffalo’s beauty, suppleness and durability—lab tests show the leather is twice as thick and has more collagen than cowhide—it is an ideal material for upholstery, a fact the Levenbergs came to know almost by accident or perhaps fate.
“The whole concept was born on a ranch in Colorado,” Michael says of Buffalo Collection’s furniture line. The business sprang organically from an overgrazed cattle ranch where bison had been introduced to rejuvenate the land, he explains. The restoration project was so successful, the ranch couldn’t sustain the entire herd and began producing meat. Rather than let the hides go to waste, the Levenbergs collaborated with a fourth-generation furniture builder to outfit the ranch with heirloom-quality pieces.
Visitors to the ranch started asking if they could buy the striking buffalo-hide sofas and club chairs, and the Levenbergs admitted they simply didn’t have that many bison.
“So we called other ranchers and started accumulating data,” Michael says. “Sadly, we found out that 90 percent of the hides of the bison-meat business were ending up in landfills. We called the ranchers back and said if you can find a way to process the hides better, get them on salt and get them to us, we’ll pay you for your hides.”
A delighted list of waiting customers soon began placing orders with personalized color and design requests, and the Levenbergs evolved again, this time into experts in coordinating with tanners, builders and related service providers.
“Everything about this has just been an evolution,” Michael says.
Today, Buffalo Collection offers four basic neutral tones of leather—sand, saddle, mocha and black—as well as about 30 tanning colors and finishes. Hides are individual to the animal, scars and all, and unique as fingerprints. Depending on the type of treatment selected, natural grain can be minimized or enhanced to crisscross hides like fine spider webs or textured alligator skin.
Buyers can also choose from a breadth of details such as hump hair, buffalo-fur trim, fringe and cowboy-inspired touches. The types of orders are limited only by imagination, from ottomans and headboards to wall treatments and stair runners.
Customization, the Levenbergs say, has been key in building their loyal and enthusiastic client base.
“Most people don’t come in and say, ‘I’ll take that.’ They’ll say they love a certain sofa, but they want a straight back instead of the camel back, or they want a darker stain or a gloss,” Michael says. “This furniture is built to last a lifetime, so you might as well have it built the way you like it!”
An Artisanal Feast
Buffalo Collection’s showroom features the work of about 40 classic and contemporary Western and Southwestern artists and artisans, many of whom incorporate buffalo images into their pieces. World-renowned gourd artist Robert Rivera, for example, mounts buffalo horns atop some of his intricately painted masks. On the back wall of the showroom, a herd of buffalo charge down the canvas of a classic oil, and in a nearby chair, prehistoric buffalo bound across fur-edged pillows.
Every corner and niche of Buffalo Collection harbors surprises. Browsers who are enchanted by a whole buffalo “robe” rug may suddenly notice a pillar light of glowing onyx, or a gnarl of gleaming cedar. Customers who’ve flown into the Valley just to shop leather may have eyes only for the sofas until they look up and spot antler chandeliers fashioned from amber glass. And quite suddenly, it can seem as though Kachina rattles are everywhere, peering from the walls through their dark slitted eyes.
“We handpick every single piece from every single artist, and it makes for a very curated collection that is always changing,” Michael says. “We know each and every one of these artists and craftspeople personally, so it’s also a very interesting experience for the people visiting.”
The Levenbergs say it feels good supporting talented people whom they know. They like knowing where their checks are going, and they like knowing the work they buy is organically sourced and locally crafted.
“That’s how we look at the world,” Michael says. “And I think, across the board, people are getting to be more conscious, more thoughtful with their spending. They’re getting tired of mass-produced things. They are interested in something unique and handmade in America.”
Buffalo Collection ships worldwide. The showroom is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. daily except for Thursdays (closing is 9 p.m.) and Sundays (closing is 5 p.m.) Summer hours begin in June; call for details.
Buffalo Collection
7044 E. Fifth Avenue
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-946-3903
