About Us

 

 

David Green Master Furrier is an Alaskan family run business and iconic institution celebrating over 100 years in business. Founder David Green, was born in Europe into a multigenerational family of Master Furrier craftsmen. Immigrating to New York as a young man, his sense of adventure led to his arrival to Alaska in 1922. Family legend has it that after reading Jack London’s book, “Call of the Wild” he decided to leave the comforts of home and head to the territory of Alaska. His adventures took him throughout Southeast Alaska. Most notably was Cordova, when he met a family that set up an introduction to the woman that would later become his wife, Ruth.

In those early days, he would work by making one garment at a time, mainly from the customer’s own pelts. The business continued to grow, however during the Depression years, times were lean. Seattle also became a base of operations for a time. During WWII Military contracts supplying the Alaska Scouts full length muskrat parkas, fur ruffs to the Air Force, and other concessions allowed the business to grow. As a result, they were able to hire employees, sales people, furriers and finishers. The move to Anchorage right after WWII established a permanent base of operations. The store on 4​th Avenue continues to be a local icon and a tourist destination. The original showroom still boasts a photo wall of fame ranging from celebrities, military brass and even from the Pope’s visit to Anchorage.

Following the passing of David Green in 1971, the sons of “David Green & Sons,” Jerry and Perry, took over the business and continued offering a huge inventory to locals and visitors. The slogan “If you don’t know furs know your furrier” became a household mantra to Alaskans as a result of “corny” commercials that were inherently cheesy, but were truly effective marketing!

As the business grew, so did the family and inventory! The founder’s grandsons and granddaughters joined the company. Innovated styles and fashion became a part of the fur garment industry. No longer were styles limited to only the black and browns and classic styles, but now color and new designs became popular. New materials and ideas regenerated the industry as well as the family business. David Green’s namesake grandson, David and his wife Shani became the new faces of the company. Shani’s sense of style and fashion was shaped at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Her intuition to create designs for the new generation of fur enthusiasts has propelled David Green’s to new heights.

We invite you to experience our family’s heritage of supplying Alaskans and customers worldwide with our knowledge of an industry that has been around since the dawn of creation.