The materials include leftover leather and headliner fabric from automotive companies and seatbelt material from an auto safety firm.

“It might not be perfect for their seatbelts, but it’s perfect for a backpack sling,” said Schlaff, adding that the material is also used to make dog leashes.

Pingree Detroit products recently arrived at the Born in Detroit pop-up on Woodward. The brand also has a presence in the Detroit Shoppe at Somerset Collection in Troy, as well as the Rust Belt Market in Ferndale three days a week.

“This is the first time in seven years, eight years that we've been able to have a presence downtown," Schlaff said. “The Born in Detroit store is open seven days a week and has our best-selling products. So our drawstring bag, our Motown Venue bag, our coasters, our wallets, our luggage tags, our mouse pads. The products that we sell the most of, that people like the most, we have there.”

Pingree sells a coaster set for $22, luggage tags for $35, wallets in the $40 range and its popular Motown Venue Bag for $170. The shoes, which are made to order, cost $360 to $400 a pair.

The brand started as an outreach for veterans and evolved into a company that employs veterans. Schlaff named the business Pingree Detroit in honor of Hazen S. Pingree, a former Detroit mayor who operated Pingree and Smith Shoe Co. and employed veterans in the 1800s.

The company started with journals, tote bags and keychains as the business raised money and the founders learned the skills to make footwear. Nine years later, 15 people, some of them co-owners, make products at the warehouse.

It’s challenging but rewarding to use upcycled materials, said Nathaniel Crawford II, a co-owner in the business. He makes the shoes, with a design that has evolved in the six years he’s been with the company.

“We're using upcycle ... and we're trying to do great stuff to it,” he said. “So it takes a lot of time and money and research to see what capabilities we could do with certain materials.”

Crawford noted that they have had to learn to work with a variety of leathers: “It's so much different automotive materials. So you got coated leather, you got nubuck, you got suede, you got crushed leather. You can do so much with different kinds of leather. Because of that, every day is a welcomed challenge to see what our creative minds can come up with.”

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