Page 17 - The Peorian Vol 3 Issue 1 Winter

17
thePeorian.com The Present
Any regrets? “Of
course not. But I would
have made a great
oceanographer,” he
said with a chuckle. “I
love what I do, though.
It was obviously in my
blood,” said Broms, who
bought his father out of
the store nearly 30 years
ago.
Lee Broms passed
away in August 2009,
Mollie in May 2012.
Through the years
Broms has dealt with
the controversies sur-
rounding the fur industry and
said he still gets picketed the day
after Thanksgiving. “I can’t stop
it so I try not to worry about it. I
do remember one year, as I was
walking back into the store after
taking a fur out to a customer’s
car a guy drove up in a nice
sports car and started taking
a protest sign out of the car. I
yelled to him and asked him if
those were faux leather seats in
his car or the real thing. He kinda
put his head down, put the sign
back and drove away,” he said.
“If people want to be against
something, that’s their right, of
course. But what many don’t
realize is how the industry has
changed. Fur and leather are
renewable resources and the ani-
mals they come from are raised
for that purpose on a ranch that
is government controlled. I don’t
buy wild furs,” Broms added.
As a furrier, Broms designs the
furs sold in his store and makes
many of the mink coats and ac-
cessories. He designs and makes
sheared mink reversible garments
and a light-weight mink garment
he calls “Florida minks.” They
are very light but provide just
enough warmth for the cooler
evenings of warm climates.
During the busiest part of the
year, it is common for Broms to
be at the store 16 hours a day,
well before opening for the day
and well after closing. “I got my
dad’s work ethic. One of the rea-
sons I bought him out was so that
he and mom could slow down.
But now I find myself working all
the time,” he said.
He even recently started a new
business in his “spare” time.
Called Jatara Solutions (www.
jatarasolutions.com) the company
aims to help other businesses to
better understand and handle the
changes in health care laws. “But
that’s another story for another
time,” he said.
During warmer months he
will store and repair garments,
including leather. For furs, he
added, cold storage is a must.
“Storing and cleaning your fur is
like changing the oil in your car.
If you don’t do it, eventually it
will fall apart,” he said.
Broms said one of the best
things that has come from his
time in the business is customer
loyalty and friendship. “There
have been times where somebody
will say they are going to Chi-
cago to shop for fur or leather.
I tell them to please,
just compare apples to
apples and make sure
they include service
with that comparison. I
may not charge as much,
but I would rather they
consider how I treated
them. Then they will
come back,” he said.
“In this business we
cater to customers from
age 30 to death. You
build loyalty. That’s one
reason I love what I do,”
Broms said.
Jeff Broms, left, second generation owner of Broms Furs
& Fashions, shows one of the minks he designed that is
being modeled by his employee, Debbie Hasselbacher