Our Story

2021

It's a pandemic. Nothing works. No one is in the mood, health fears are everywhere. We have been at the home office and in various quarantines for several months. In May comes the release and with it the Big Restart! Celebrating 100,000 customers. We decided to sew shoes. We hire a new workshop and arrange the entire project. We want to offer an exceptional service - high-quality, individually sewn leather shoes made of first-class materials. Everything goes up. We have to raise prices. We are learning to model shoes. We buy technology for shoes. We are expanding the women's line with new handbags. We are looking for new people to join the production team. Finally, we hope to be able to change the materials for this Christmas. Already in summer, we have sold out of bags until almost winter. In a few days, the shoe machines will arrive and the new chapter of our adventure will begin in full...

2020

Year eight came. Covid! Down 95% overnight. We fought back and reset production to sewing masks and production of protective shields. Nobody knew what was going to happen. We built a virtual mask sewing factory in a few days - and involved almost 100 home seamstresses. We have contracted cardio centers, retirement homes, institutions. Hundreds and hundreds of packages left for the whole country every day. Thanks to you, we survived the worst slump. We managed to sell 10,000 masks to all corners of the USA. We managed to model our own fittings and buckles. In the meantime, we have set up a website for the US market for our leather products and are trying to get a foothold. It's stiff. After three years, we entered into a partnership with the Perlinger tannery, the court supplier of the Hermés fashion house. We introduced the Tlustý Premium premium line. We dream about shoes. Next year we would like to start sewing shoes. Although it was a hectic and difficult year, we handled a record 31,000 individual orders.

2019

We want people from San Francisco to Tokyo to talk about the fact that quality products are made at Tlustý. We decided to revive the watch strap production. We buy technology, learn best practices. We are launching a collection of straps for both Apple Watch and classic watches. Australian Chris joins the team. We shoot videos for English speaking markets. We finally found a foundry that will make us quality stainless steel buckles. We are improving the wallet manufacturing technology. We established cooperation with the famous American tannery Horween Leather. We are trying to change the material and find even better leather in Italy - unsuccessfully. We handled another 20,000 individual orders. And the year is gone again...

2018

We are growing. We are expanding the women's collection. We are strengthening the technology team with Šárka Kylarová. We are improving the website and establishing an internal photo studio. We realize that no one from the team can take a proper photo. We are learning. We are expanding the offer of workshops. We decided to try to open German speaking markets. We collide and break our noses. Selling a high-quality, handmade item from Prague to Germany is no fun. We establish cooperation with Michal Pavlas and start selling his custom-made shoes. We processed over 20,000 individual orders throughout the year.

2017

Ivana Ostřanská joined the team and things started to happen. We've improved the technology by several light years. We made the first briefcase to order for super demanding customers. We have given a facelift to the men's product line. Monika invented other products from the Moni concept - kits. We decided to make it out of stainless steel. We spent a whole year trying to debug the technology. At the fair, we met the Kovolits from Japan. MBA students started coming to us on excursions on how to make a business out of nothing. He always goes to Škodovka and to Tlusté in Vršovice.

2016

We completely redesigned the entire Tlusty collection and celebrated our 20 000th customer. Our team grew to include more than 25 craftspeople and collaborators, while our Czech Facebook Page exploded with more than 40 000 fans.

2015

This year we processed and handled more than 10 000 individual orders! The media started coming this year and we were featured on television programs and even the prestigious Forbes magazine wrote about us!

2014

We successfully designed a collection of high-quality men's leather apparel, opened a large, sunny workshop in Prague, purchased missing machines, and started to collaborate with other craftsmen from around the Czech Republic.

2013

One of the Czech Republic's most famous leather artisans, Roman Tlusty, asked his long time friend, Ivan Petrův, to join forces and rebuild the Tlusty brand from scratch.

2010

The global financial crisis hit our small repair service shop very hard and the market for leather goods completely changed. People stopped spending money and cheap imports from Asia started to look more attractive for local customers.

2007

Times were tough. Fashion changed and leather jackets and boots stopped being cool. The Czech Republic started getting swamped by cheap imports from Asia and this made competition very difficult.

2001

We started to build our customers base and made very cool costumes for several historical films shot in Prague. This was a fun and exciting time!

1996

This was the Golden Age of Roman Tlusty's small leather one man workshop and leather goods service. His cellar wasn't just a workshop, but a place where musicians, artists, and actors would gather to share their experiences and their time.

1994

Roman Tlusty's business was focused mainly on cowboy boot and leather shoe repair. He asked his friend Ivan Petrův to create a new logo for his Tlusty leatherworks goods and that logo is still in use today.

1993

Golden 90's are in full power. Cowboy boots fashion starts and a shoemaker Roman Tlusty develops his own brutal high soles. The legend of Prague rock scene is born. The Prague rocker who does not have these high soles at the Durangos or cowboy boots, does not exist.

1990

Communism collapsed. Freedom arrived! People are allowed to start their businesses. Roman Tlusty, 23 that time applies for a small business license among first people in the country. It all starts!

1981

Roman Tlusty starts his life journey to become a shoemaker in Shoemaking institute in Pilsen. That time there is deep tough communism, no private businesses, and no hope for people. It is the time of Cold War, and the only vision is to finish the institute and work in one state owned company whole life.