Our Story

In 1993, Gary Thomas bought a building on Main Street in downtown East Helena, Montana for a practical reason:  it was the closest commercial space to his house that he could afford.  His plan was to change the nature of his business from retail to mail-order and do away with most of his products in order to concentrate on making sheepskin slippers.  It turned out to be a great decision because of something he didn’t initially expect - East Helena is a truly great place to run and operate a business. Its a small town that should brag about itself more often than it does.  Downtown may only be a couple of blocks long, but it has filled up with incredible business owners who are all in it for the long haul. Its a quiet place in good country.

There are several reasons for why East Helena works out so well for an independent business.  The commercial real estate is reasonably priced yet still easily accessible to the nearby population of the Helena area.  Bank access, postal service and City Hall are a few things that are just down the street.  The primary element that makes East Helena such a great location is its abundance of amazing neighbors – both in the business community and residents of the town.  One of those neighbors that we would like to single out is our incredible local Post Office.  We are a mail-order business, and we ship out over 2,000 packages each year.  The East Helena Post Office is a local partner that we could hardly do without.  Everyone on staff really goes out of their way to streamline the process and get our goods into the postal stream as effortlessly as possible.  We owe those folks a tremendous amount of gratitude.

OUR FOUNDING

High Plains Sheepskin was started in the cold and windy basins of southern Wyoming (hence the name “High Plains”) in 1975.  Gary’s first shop was in Laramie, WY.  After nine years, he moved to Last Chance Gulch in Helena, MT.  Then, in 1993, Gary moved one final time to our current location at 5 West Main Street (formally known as Prickly Pear Junction) in East Helena, MT.   We are right across the street from Dave and Annie’s restaurant, Main Street Eats (best breakfast around!), and next door to Stacks Clothing CO. & Antiques.  This is our factory, warehouse, shipping center and retail outlet all rolled into one.

Prior to starting High Plains, Gary had several years of experience in the tanning and industrial sheepskin industry.  In the tannery, he worked as a sheepskin finisher and grader.  As an apprentice under an old school Czech craftsman, Gary made sheepskin paint rollers, industrial applicators and saddle pads.  His passion for doing what he loved led him to work for himself, building High Plains Sheepskin from the ground up.  Gary employed many ambitious and talented people throughout the years who helped him build and sell his slippers, mittens and hats.  Spencer Haire was his final trusted employee and worked alongside him until Gary made his last pair of slippers.  Gary Thomas tragically passed away in August of 2019 leaving Spencer and his wife Casey Sasek to purchase High Plains and continue providing his beloved sheepskin slippers to tens of thousands of customers around the country. They make a good team. Spencer manages the shop and makes all of the products while Casey’s background in banking allows her to handle the books and marketing. In 2020, they welcomed their first son, Jackson, to the wonderful word of sheepskin slippers.

High Plains Sheepskin has always been a small business.  We work all year to make thousands of slippers, mittens and other products that we then ship to all 50 states, Canada and overseas.  We enjoy what we do and love being a part of East Helena’s small but growing community.