VERSE is a design studio based in Cape Town. Primarily working with leather, the brand is a celebration of and homage to the traditional processes it uses; the objects it creates; and the artisans that make them. Everything is manufactured in-house from our studio in Woodstock.
VERSE was established in 2018 by Cape Town based designer Shelley Lee. Shelley attributes her aesthetic sensibilities to the hundreds of childhood projects that inspired in her a love for the process of making.
She graduated with a BA Visual Communication Design from Stellenbosch University, and thereafter did a leather making course in the sublimely desolate Karoo. Under the tutelage of Frik van Jaarsveld she learnt the basics of traditional leather craft and its methods. These humble roots were to become the backbone on which she would build her brand.
"I want to create a brand that hero's both artisan and method. People want to purchase from better businesses, not bigger ones. The goal is to look after the people behind the process so that everyone in the supply chain benefits from the existence of the brand”
CRAFTSMANSHIP
In all its forms, craft is an ancient practice which finds new meaning in modern values. The greater conversation around slow, sustainable and locally made goods, all speak to the way people have begun to think about objects. We believe this has caused a shift the very definition of luxury from purely aspirational, to the search for objects with meaning. Beautiful, timeless pieces that are carried by the preservation of craft provide an elixir to the customer who is seeking out this meaning.
VERSE celebrates the connection and care that craft carries, and the human element that the process of craft imbues in objects. Not visible but rather, felt.
WHAT'S IN A NAME
The brand's name alludes to the verses, mantras, affirmations and prose that discreetly adorn the pieces made therein. These defining marks add the weight of meaning to each design.
The brand's name alludes to the verses, mantras, affirmations and prose that discreetly adorn the pieces made therein. These defining marks add the weight of meaning to each design.
"In this way, we hope to continue the whispered conversation between maker and wearer at unknowable intervals in the future. The romantic in me imagines someone glancing down at their wallet during a particularly unsatisfying day, and finding a moment of reprieve in the markings that remind them to be kind, to be gentle."
LEATHER
Our cowhide leather is sourced from local South African tanneries and is a byproduct of our local farming and agricultural industries. Leather is currently the best way to up-cycle the resulting hides, saving around 7.3million tonnes from landfill globally. The leather industry has established certified standards that our local tanneries adhere to, with both planet and people in mind.
Our cowhide leather is sourced from local South African tanneries and is a byproduct of our local farming and agricultural industries. Leather is currently the best way to up-cycle the resulting hides, saving around 7.3million tonnes from landfill globally. The leather industry has established certified standards that our local tanneries adhere to, with both planet and people in mind.
"There is a certain poetry to leather as it begins to evolve, soften and wear; collecting a patina that speaks to the life it has led. With time objects build character, I have always felt this is when they become their most beautiful.”