Need for wallet drove salesman to get creative
Bath salesman Dave Harding started Stitch and Burnish during the most recent lockdown after failing to find a locally made leather wallet.
Dave handcrafts every item using traditional leather crafting techniques and material sourced from UK tanneries.
He set up his company just over a month ago, but is already taking orders regularly and is running a successful side business as well as his full-time job as a salesman.
“I was trying to track down a locally made item with no luck at all, and with every store in the country closed I decided to give it ago myself,” he said.
“It’s not something I’ve ever done. I previously started a lockdown
❝ I was trying to track down a locally made item with no luck at all, and with every store in the country closed I decided to give it ago myself.
project where I made watches and from there I thought it would be nice if I could build my own strap and the entire thing would be mine and handmade.
“I started watching Youtube videos and took it from there.”
As a result of hand-cutting, saddle stitching and burnishing and finish, every product is ever so slightly unique due to this process.
“I come from a creative background and I studied creative arts at university a few years ago and I needed to fill a creative void,” he added.
Dave said: “They’re getting a really warm reception. I wasn’t originally going to sell them. I was just going to make them. I posted them online and more and more people started asking for custom pieces. I’m really enjoying it and I hope this will take off and keep getting bigger and bigger.”
Visit Dave’s website at www. stitchandburnish.com.