EXCLUSIVE: Shinola CEO Heath Carr Not Discouraged By Detroit's Bankruptcy

The first part of this exclusive interview with Shinola CEO, Heath Carr, can be found here.

With the vision of making Detroit a skilled manufacturing hub, Shinola is thrown into the heart of the city’s bankruptcy. The company faces uncertainty over changing city services and the available workforce.

"We can’t stay completely removed from that,” Carr began when asked about the municipal bankruptcy. “But from a business standpoint, we haven't met anyone on our team or anyone in other businesses in Detroit who have been swayed by their recent bankruptcy.”

Heath Carr explained that Shinola’s founders understood the risk of bankruptcy when they chose Detroit as their hub.

Related: Meet Detroit's Latest Investors: The Chinese

“From a Detroit city resident standpoint and from a business person standpoint... the threat of bankruptcy has been out there for a while, and it was kind of like everyone assumed this was coming.”

Other Detroit leaders have had a similar response to the city’s filing. Despite national criticism, the local view seems to be that this is a bottom before a tremendous rebound. Recent controversy, however includes the alleged sale of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ collection, much of which was donated.

In its short history, Shinola has created 75 jobs in the city and looks to add several hundred as the city matures.

“It hasn't affected our business and hasn't changed our opinion about picking Detroit. We’re proud of where we are and think that we can continue to be there for a very long time.”