Coach was founded in 1941, as a family-run workshop in a loft on 34th Street in Manhattan, with six leather-workers who made wallets and billfolds by hand. In 1946, Miles Cahn (1921–2017) and his wife Lillian Cahn (1923–2013) joined the company. By 1950, Cahn had taken over the company. During the early years, Cahn noticed the distinctive properties and qualities of the leather used to make baseball gloves. With wear and use, the leather in a glove became softer and suppler. Attempting to mimic this process, Cahn developed a process to make the leather stronger, softer, and more flexible. Since the leather absorbed dye very well, this process also created a richer, deeper color. Soon after Cahn developed this new process, Lillian Cahn suggested to Miles that the company supplement the factory's men's accessories business by adding women's leather handbags.The "sturdy cowhide bags were an immediate hit." Miles and Lillian Cahn bought the company through a leveraged buyout in 1961.