Black Willow Mink® was established in 1927 by John Adkins Sr. from early on in his career John was successful in the fur industry. He was recognized for his attention to detail and care and passion for his product. Over a period of 35 years, John developed a mink so pure black with the silkiest textured fur and the lightest weight leather the fur industry had ever seen. In May of 1966 John’s first offering of his soon-to-be famous Black Willow Mink® skins were to be auctioned off. John had developed a collection of 500 of these new and unique blue – black pelts with the softest of quality and lightest weight leather. The first bundle offered sold for a world record price of $430.00 per skin, and the last and finest bundle sold for $1,100 per skin.  John would experience many wonderful sales of his prestigious Black Willow Mink® skins, and see them recognized the world over as the finest natural black mink in the world. John Adkins Sr. past away in 1982, but his legacy lived on through his son John Adkins Jr. and his widow Ella Adkins.
The $1,100 price would stand as a world record price for black mink skins for 11 more years. Everyone in the fur industry thought this would be the record to end all world records for black mink skins, but records are made to be broken and like his father John Adkins Jr. was a determined man to continually offer an improved product to the fur trade. In April 1987, Black Willow Mink® skins would soar to a new world record high of $1,700 per skin, a record still standing today that has never been touched by any other black mink producer. Black Willow Mink® is now owned and operated exclusively by John Adkins Jr. & Son.