Our Artisans

Anita Bell

Valerie McCallum

Jackie Lowe

Deborah Hochreutener 

Sarah MacLaughlin

Marie Monro

Suzie Little

Heidi Robinson

Nancy Goodens

Heather Muir

Claudi Barratt

Mim McCann

Mark Maidment

Wendy Middleditch

Katherine Lawrie

Sylvia Tomkinson

Karen Saunders

Moira Cooper

Min Maude

Ellie Philpot

Bec Hopkins

Paula Chuter -Baker

Teresa Poole

Frans deLeij

We Welcome our new guest artist William Stephen until Wednesday 24th December.

William writes ….It all began when my belt broke...

My leatherwork career started when my everyday belt had reached the end of the line. In keeping with my stubborn persistence that "I can probably do that myself", I gave it a go! And here I find myself, years later, still working with leather, learning and improving my skills. By day I am a composites engineer but my passion still lies with making things with my hands. While leather has become my mainstay, I often accompany it with my previous crafts such as metalwork, woodwork and silversmithing.

Every piece I make is crafted entirely by hand using traditional saddlery and leatherwork techniques in which I am self-taught. I design and pattern each product myself, often going through several prototypes and testing before settling on a design I am happy with. I try to source my materials locally wherever possible; nearly all my leather comes from UK tanneries, and it is all vegetable tanned, a slow and natural process that can take up to 12 months. While all of this can drive up the cost of an item, I feel it is important not to cut corners when it comes to quality, serviceability and sustainability, I hand saddle-stich instead of machine-stich as this is both more repairable and doesn’t come undone when worn through. I choose materials that last, and that can be maintained and repaired over time.

All of this is in the name of making products that can outlast me, be maintained and repaired, and eventually, after more than a century of use by many generations, return to the soil beneath our feet.