Saint Crispin
Shopping
18th February, 2013
Leathergoods by new Sydney label, Saint Crispin. Styling - Glen Proebstel, Photography - Mark Townsend.
Leathergoods by Saint Crispin. Styling - Glen Proebstel, Photography - Mark Townsend.
Leather table runners by Saint Crispin. Styling - Glen Proebstel, Photography - Mark Townsend.
Today's post came as a friendly tip off from stylist Glen Proebstel, who, despite having moved to NYC last year, still has his finger firmly on the pulse of all that is happening in Australian design! Thanks for thinking of us Glen!
Saint Crispin is a new range of handcrafted Australian leather goods, designed by Scotland-born, Sydney-based Craig Jones. Though he did originally study textile design many moons ago, Craig has worked for nearly 15 years in homewares and furniture retail in Sydney. Late last year he finally decided it was time to launch his own label - a succinct little range of leather bags, accessories and homewares, all handmade in Sydney. I am loving the caramel tones and slightly crackled texture of the tote bags pictured above - and how about those smart iphone cases!? Beautiful.
The Saint Crispin website is coming soon, in the meantime you can spot the range at stockists including Smallspaces and Becker Minty in Sydney, and Ajar in Melbourne.
If you're wondering where the name comes from, Craig explains - 'Saint Crispin is the patron Saint for leather, saddlers and tanners'. As it happens, Craig launched his business in October last year - the same month as Saint Crispin's Day. 'Pure coincidence, but rather appropriate!' he says!
We asked Craig a few questiins about his new business -
Tell us a little bit about your background - what path led you to launching Saint Crispin?
Nearly 20 years ago I studied Textile Design (Printed and Constructed Textiles) at Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. I then moved to Antwerp, Belgium and worked with a designer assisting with knitwear and shoe collections. I arrived in Sydney nearly 15 years ago, and started working at Empire Homewares in Darlinghurst (which is where I met Glen Proebstel actually). After that I moved into commercial furniture and worked for eight years at Stylecraft in Sales.
What design and manufacturing processes are involved in the creation of your pieces?
I design the product and have it manufactured in Sydney. My bags, cushions and technology accessories including iPhone covers are made locally by a skilled leather manufacturer. I make the table runners myself, cutting by hand, washing the leather to soften and age slightly, before stitching by hand. I believe it is important to utilise the entire hide and not waste a scrap of this gorgeous material.
What can we expect next from Saint Crispin?
I intend to develop the bags, along with other items such as homewares.
At the moment in development is a overnight 'grip' bag, a lightweight leather rucksack for urban cyclists! I work full-time, so development may be slower than I would like, but my main aim is to produce quality pieces that last for a long time.
