Our Founder's Story
I remember living in my friends house in Kalk Bay back in 2016 — I was in my early 20s: that sweet and wild time where you are getting a sense of who you are as a person and what exactly it is you see yourself doing with your life.
My days were filled with play. By then I had established a small (tiny!) thrift business that was keeping me afloat without taking too much of my time, and so I allowed myself the freedom to explore different mediums in the dusty garage at the back of the house.
When I found a big bag of discarded leather scraps, I thrifted a tattered 'Leather-working: Tips and Tricks' book from the 60s, and got to work figuring out how on earth to create something from this beautiful, organic and difficult-to-work-with material.
In the beginning I made medicine pouches and pouches for rolling tabacco. I made key-rings, and pencil cases. Very simple shapes that didn't require much skill. I remember constantly being in a state of making something for myself, seeing a friend who happened to like it, giving it to them, and then going back to the garage to make another one. The idea of selling these pieces or creating a business only occurred to me when I found a leather making course in the Karoo.
Finding the small hut in the back garden of Frik van Jaarsveld's school of leather was to be a pivotal moment in my life. The two weeks I spent there gave me the confidence to consider this hitherto hobby to be a potential business idea, but once it did, there was not a bone in my body that wasn't on board.
In the beginning it was just me, hand stitching from home, figuring things out one step at a time. Over the years however, and thanks to the amazing support of locals and tourists alike, we have grown the team to 5 incredible skilled creative spirits and artisans who each bring their own element to the offering we are able to provide today.
What a joy it has and continues to be.
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