Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.

Courtney Johnson is the owner and designer of King Pine Customs, which repurposes clothing and other materials and makes them into bags.

STURGIS — When COVID-19 halted travel in 2020, Courtney Johnson was stuck at home and could no longer travel for work.

Instead of sitting bored, she picked up sewing, a hobby she always wanted to pursue. She bought a sewing machine and started sewing clothes. However, finding herself drawn to leather, she bought a new machine and off she went.

“I taught myself everything, to sew all this stuff, online through YouTube and TikTok and all of that,” Johnson said. “I can see things when I see a garment or see something, I could just see what it could transform into.”

Very quickly it turned into turning sentimental items, like her husband’s military coat, into a tote bag.

“I’m a very sentimental person and so having something that really means something to you or to the person” (is important), she said. 

Now she has her own booth at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, her first time participating as an exhibitor, called King Pine Customs. Johnson said she grew up in Gorman, Nebraska, and has been to the rally before but has not been back in a long time.

Johnson is an interior designer by trade but said she has always been into fashion. She said she’s always been creative but never had time to learn to sew. Now she has four standard styles she can turn garments into and plans to have more on the way.

She said it depends on the garment someone brings in, but can turn one garment or multiple into a tote bag, tassel bag, double buckle and the boot bag. Johnson said some items on a piece of clothing can really stand out and be an obvious accent or pocket for the bag.

“It just kind of transforms as I look at it,” she said.

Johnson said she sometimes has to supplement material depending on the size of garment she is given, but does supplement with things like zippers.

“It’s a marriage of everything,” she said. 

Johnson said she won’t actively be sewing while she is at the rally, but does have bags for sale including Harley-Davidson jackets- and boots-turned-bags, although she is able to take requests and consult on pieces.

She said the most difficult thing for her is having people understand what exactly she does. 

“I can take those pieces that are just sitting in closets, they might put thousands of miles on it or it has a special meaning,” Johnson said. “Once you take it off it’s in a closet or it goes in a box, it gets donated.”

Johnson said she hopes she can help people bring their memories with them. Johnson’s booth is located near Harley-Davidson near the corner of Junction Avenue and Main Street in Sturgis. She said lead times are about 12-16 weeks.

— Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com —

Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

As prices surge, store brands have become an attractive option, but their origins remain largely secretive.

Elevate Rapid City, in partnership with Heartland Forward and Builders and Backers, released applications Monday for Black Hills residents to …

U.S. inflation slowed to 8.5% in July as falling gas prices gave Americans a slight break from a 4-decade peak earlier in the summer.

Prices are likely to fall on gas and energy by the end of the year, said Elevate Rapid City President/CEO Tom Johnson.

Don't forget insurance before sending your child off to college. Learn more on the PennyWise podcast.

Don't let decades of hard work go to waste.

Lloyd Companies is working on test piles as it nears a start date for the Block 5 development on St. Joseph Street between Fifth and Sixth streets.

You don't need to perform advanced calculus to navigate through this rocky economic period. Just follow Warren Buffett's example.

Courtney Johnson is the owner and designer of King Pine Customs, which repurposes clothing and other materials and makes them into bags.

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.