I met Antony Todd of Sam Brown Leather recently and was impressed by the range and quality of his leather goods and belts, many with bespoke silver buckles.
Anthony told me more about his bespoke leather service. "I am hugely motivated by domestic product and anything that smacks tradition and quality presses all my buttons so, whatever I was going to use was going to come form the UK. The resulting thorough search threw up a tannery in the Midlands who had been producing highest quality vegetable drum dyed hides since the 1800's. Samples were sent and I was blown away by the quality".
"At this stage, which was maybe 18 months ago, it dawned on me that we could be missing a trick and that by sand casting classic alloys for the buckles and using contemporary finishes on the leather, I could create something that would hit the market at a great price. So I made a wax and cast brass, copper and pewter in both a vintage and a slightly polished finish, sewed them with Londonderry Irish Linen thread to hand cut straps and have not really looked back. When I say hand cut I mean hand cut by me using only traditional tools and materials, no machines involved whatsoever!"
"The authentic nature of my work has been well accepted and I now have two other skilled leather workers who help me. I still take commissions for sterling silver buckles which start at about £165.00 for a classic suit belt but, the business is now dominated by the alloy buckles and in particular the edge dye belts which start at £59.00. The website is a great tool not only showcasing our product, which has now expanded to include small leather goods but also enabling my clients to create their own combinations and once again, I seem to be taking more bespoke orders than anything else".
For more information, see Sam Brown Leather.