Behind the Scenes
Would you like to know where your favorite pieces come from? Take a peek into my studio.
This is where the magic happens! Here I design and handcraft all the colorful goodies you find in my online store. To make this possible, I need a bunch of tools and machines, which you can see in the pictures below. And then there's the fun part: sourcing and storing all the materials. Think leather, fabrics, trims and zippers in every color of the rainbow, as well as metal bits and pieces, rivets and buttons, along with all sorts of beads and embellishments.
Where do I get all this stuff? Well, wherever I can find it! I try to buy locally whenever I can, but since I do not live in a big city anymore, it usually takes me hours and hours to drive to get something, so I can't avoid ordering online as well. Still, a lot of materials simply find me in the most serendipitous ways! It's a miracle, how whatever is supposed to find me, will indeed find me – sometimes against all odds. It may be the friend of a friend's mother who happens to have some beautiful vintage piece of embroidery for me, or a former coworker thinking of me while visiting an artisan market, bringing home beautiful beads. And of course, I also find many amazing treasures during my travels, rummaging local markets and quirky little shops. Luckily, I usually travel light, so there's plenty of room in my suitcase for precious finds...
.jpg "A sunny day in the studio")
.jpg "Worktop with scrap leather")
Light and love and lots of fresh air...
... are some of the basic ingredients in everything I make and create.
I usually have my best ideas outside in nature, it's where I recharge and find inspiration and motivation. As a photographer and designer, I just love the beauty and sublime quality of natural light. Colors usually look so much better in true light. Artificial light, even coming from so-called »daylight« lamps, tends to make colors look flat and lifeless. Finer nuances and subtle differences in shades and hues are often lost when artificially illuminated, so I almost exclusively work with natural light. I depend on it to select the right leather for a project, to combine fabrics and sewing cotton, or to pick the perfect beads for a piece of jewelry. Come to think about it, the only thing I do not mind doing with artificial light if necessary, is sewing small things on the machine.
When it comes to photographing my finished pieces, though, I find myself inevitably drawn to the improvised »open air studios« provided by the great outdoors. While I do have a small indoor setup with daylight lamps in my workshop (and am sure grateful to have that option during the darker months) nothing quite compares to the magic of pictures taken with natural light.
My ideal workspace would be a spacious daylight studio with fully glazed walls, surrounded by nature, offering an unobstructed view of the land and sky. Imagine being able to work with soft, diffused natural light all year round... it's my ultimate dream!
Working and living in harmony with nature
As a designer and crafter/artisan I want to be able to take responsibility for my work and products, starting with the sourcing and buying of materials right through to their later disposal – as only a closed-loop production system and a low to zero-waste policy can be truly sustainable in the long run.
By this I mean a system where products, materials, and resources are kept in use for as long as possible, using as much of them as possible. Waste is minimized by reintegrating materials and products back into the system to create new things. If you want to learn more about this approach, please continue reading here: ENVIRONMENT
.jpg "Brass Brand Stamp")
A Passionate Crafter and Creator
All my products, from the initial sketch to the final stitch, are designed and handcrafted entirely by myself. Starting with the creation of the pattern, followed by the development of the first prototype, up to the finished piece, everything happens right here in my workshop. My aim is to create pieces that my customers will love and use for years to come, so I put a lot of thought into carefully considering every detail of the manufacturing process, which involves testing for practicality and durability several times, adjusting and improving if and when necessary, before completing a product with greatest care and attention – and finally listing it in my store.
Sometimes, however, upon looking at an especially gorgeous piece of fabric or beautiful antique trim, there is a spontaneous burst of inspiration and I immediately know what I want to make with a certain material, so I start creating right there and then, at the cutting table or sewing machine, without a pattern or prototype. Such pieces are truly unique, conceived and born in the moment, and usually cannot be replicated. You’ll find them marked as one-of-a-kind items or limited editions in the shop.
My Promise of Quality!
Each piece in my collection is designed with great care and traditionally handcrafted with utmost attention to detail. Prior to being added to my range of products, every design is thoroughly tested in everyday use. If necessary, it is then modified, improved, and finally tested again, before it’s eventually made available in my online store.
While many items are ready to ship, especially one-of-a-kind pieces and items that are part of limited editions or themed collections, others will be custom made just for you. Handling and preparing personalized or individualized articles may take a little time. You will find detailed information concerning production and processing times for each article in the product descriptions.
However, once you place your order, I promise I’ll immediately get to work. I will personally select and prepare your items, before your order is carefully packaged and sent to you as quickly as possible – your favorites will be on their way to you in no time!
A few things to know about handcrafted leather products ...
With leather being a natural material, slight variations in shape, color, and texture of a product may occur within a collection, even among otherwise identical items. Similarly, due to the handcrafted nature of my work, which is not mass produced but made one at a time, the appearance of embossed or embellished surfaces can vary a little between individual pieces. For example, the depth of an embossing or hand-tooled design may turn out slightly differently depending on the thickness and structure of the leather. This is not a flaw, but a typical characteristic of authentic craftsmanship.
The surface designs and textures I add to some of my products are not machine-made laser engravings, as is common today, but are created through manual embossing, carving and hand-stamping. In comparison to a laser engraving, which is of course highly accurate and endlessly repeatable, yet also appears somewhat lifeless and flat, a manually tooled leather surface has a very unique charm. The lettering, patterns, and structures created in this way appear a lot more lively and exclusive than modern laser engravings.