ENTREPRENEURS:
Two women who are producing luxe local handcrafted leather accessories
OWNERS: Erin-Lee and Chad Petersen
START-UP COSTS: My husband, Chad, and I took out a 24-month iPhone contract, then sold the phone for about R6000, which was enough to cover some of the costs to get us up and running.
TURNOVER: We now rent a 300 square-metre studio in Maitland, and have been able to employ 10 people, buy the machines we need and cover the rent of our retail space at the V&A Waterfront and Old Biscuit Mill.
Erin-Lee Petersen used to be a radio journo reading the traffic reports on GoodHope FM’s breakfast show. Being a freelancer, she supplemented her income with a job as a part-time sales assistant at designer clothing store, Paul Smith.
‘I was there for three years, then moved to Apsley, where they sell shoes and handbags by luxury brands like Bottega Veneta, Céline and Christian Louboutin.’
Erin-Lee has always loved bags, and began to wonder why South Africa wasn’t producing the same high-quality, high-end products.
‘I tried to find manufacturers that could make the product I wanted and couldn’t,’ she says. So she decided to buy off-cuts from leather factories and try to make them herself.
Her boyfriend (now husband and business partner) Chad, an industrial designer, urged her to watch YouTube videos to learn the craft.
‘We’d sit and watch Japanese craftsmanship videos. With time, our stitching improved.’
Chad also suggested they use computer-aided design (CAD) software to laser-cut the leather.
In 2011, the couple applied to showcase at the Design Indaba’s Emerging Creatives initiative: Erin-Lee with her leather goods and Chad with his furniture.
‘I didn’t get in, but Chad did. I went along and put five cardholders I’d made on the tables on display. That weekend I went home with 80 orders; Chad had two! He was
like, ‘We’re going to make these cardholders into something special.’
Today, their range consists of three collections: the Classic Collection of canvas and leather bags; the Luxe collection of calf skin and nappa leather bags as well as small leather goods; and their most recent White Label Collection, a range of waterproof ripstop bags for frequent travellers. All their products are crafted entirely in SA, and all materials are sourced locally. Erin-Lee and Chad also employ 10 previously disadvantaged people. They’ve trained each craftsperson, taking pride in the fact that they’ve helped improve their lives by providing them with a skill.
Research Unit has amassed an impressive number of accolades over the years, including the SAB KickStart runner-up award which included a R750 000 cash prize, CapeTalk’s small-business award, the Cape Chamber of Commerce Design award and the Nedbank Transformation Award.
Erin-Lee is serious about redefining South African design. ‘We’re trying to prove that our goods can compete with the best globally. We have a 10-year guarantee.’
They’ve had a successful pop-up shop in Berlin, and the brand can be found in Maputo, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. In SA, gift shops, boutique stores, hotels and lodges stock their products.