How did you fall in love with leathermaking?
After discovering that a life sitting behind a computer wasn’t for me, I tried many crafts and none really grabbed me until I took a leatherworking course in Tetbury. I fell in love with the material and the processes. The different types of leather, the textures, the colours and the smells have captivated me since.
When did you decide it was the craft for you?
On my first weekend course in November 2014. I didn't know it was going to be a career but I loved everything about it. It remained a hobby until I took a longer course in South Africa in 2016 after which I started my business.
© Gareth Hacker
Why did leather grab you so much?
As a craft, there are so many elements to it and the material itself is a combination of hard and soft, both naturally evocative. Human beings have a connection to leather as a material, as the tactile nature of it, it is instinctively within us.
Do you have a type of leather that you like most?
I love all types of leather because they all have different purposes. But I only use the best and the highest quality, so for my everyday goods, I use vegetable-tanned leather from Tuscany, Italy, and for my handbags, I use goatskins for grain and texture that come from India and are tanned in France.