Coast Leather is all about crafting handmade products which last well beyond the lifetime of off-the-shelf alternatives.

About Coast Leather, the leather and the stitching used in my work

I use traditional techniques and materials to make handmade leather goods like belts, wallets, notebook covers and passport holders. If you can’t see something suitable, I’m also happy to make a bespoke item that is completely unique to you; please contact me for more information.

There are no machines used in the production of my leather goods; the leather is hand cut, hand stitched and hand finished using a small selection of tools. I love working with leather. Every piece of leather feels different, cuts differently, stitches differently and ages differently. These variations help make every finished item be totally unique.

As mass production takes its toll on our planet, I feel a responsibility to ensure that the products I create have as small an impact as possible. The leather I use is sourced from UK and Italian tanneries, who use centuries old methods and natural ingredients like tree bark and vegetable matter in their tanning process. Buckles and metalwork is all supplied by a foundry in the UK.

I’d much rather the finished product sold itself, so instead of using fancy packaging, wherever possible I’ll re-use the packaging that my leather is delivered to me in (nearly all leather is wrapped in brown packing paper… I have a lot of a brown packing paper!)

When you buy a Coast Leather product, you’re buying a handcrafted product that’s been made with care and attention to detail to not only the product itself, but to the traditional techniques and processes of a multitude of crafts-people through history.

About the leather

Depending on the item I’m making, I work with different types of leather.

My leather belts are made with oak bark tanned English bridle leather from J & FJ Bakers in Colyton, Devon, England. Wallets, notebook covers and passport holders are made using traditional vegetable tanned leather from a region in Italy which has a rich history of leather work.

Producing vegetable tanned leather is an artisan process which uses the bark, leaves and branches from specific plant species.

About the stitching

There are no sewing machines used in the stitching of my leather goods; all items are hand stitched using a traditional and strong saddle stitch.

Where is Coast Leather based?

All leather goods are designed and handmade by me, in my workspace in sunny Southbourne, Dorset, on the south coast of the UK.