Mark Staton

The Origin Story

Halfway around the world and back

Before there was a showroom, there was a swamp on the other side of the planet. Mark Staton, a biologist, spent three years in Papua New Guinea as technical manager and then general manager of Mainland Holdings Crocodile Farm — described as the largest commercial crocodile farm in the world. It's where, in his words, he "had my first practical experiences in farming of crocodilians." When the family came home to Acadiana, he founded Mark Staton Co. in 1992 as a one-man operation. Three decades later it's grown to about a dozen people and a retail brand, Bayou Land Leather.

"My wife, Allison, and our three daughters literally followed me to the opposite side of the Earth and back."— Mark Staton, on his greatest success (ShopTalk)

Something Interesting

He helped write the rules

Staton isn't just a maker who buys skins — he's one of the scientists whose work helped shape the modern Louisiana alligator-management program, the very system of tags, quotas and sustainable harvest that this site keeps coming back to. That gives his goods an unusual provenance: the man finishing the leather understands the animal, the marsh, and the conservation model from the inside out. His shop is also unusually complete, handling everything from raw, salted skins to finished purses under one roof — a true "swamp to showroom" operation. (See how that whole chain works in the journey from hide to heirloom.)

The Family Bench

A family business

The "Staton" on the label is really a whole family. Mark's wife Allison Staton is the lead purse maker with around 42 years of her own experience on alligator; their daughter Karin Hebert runs quality control; son-in-law Clint Hebert handles sales; and longtime makers Christina Solomon and Gayla Hebert Rudd round out the bench. It's Karin who tends to put the shop's character into words:

"Everyone's different, but we're one of a kind."— Karin Hebert, Mark Staton Co. (The Advocate)

Sources: bayoulandleather.com ("Meet the Makers"); markstatonllc.com; ShopTalk (2019); The Advocate, "From swamp to showroom" (2024); Louisiana Crafts Guild. Note: published sources differ on whether a doctorate in biology belongs to Mark or to Allison Staton, so we describe the family's training as biological without assigning a specific degree. See the business profile: Bayou Land Leather.