PK: As you say, what you do is not only about creating the final product, but also about its promotion, contact with customers, etc. How do you and your partner share responsibilities?
We do not have any established division of responsibilities. I am a person with ADHD, so I felt that we simply had to develop such a way of working. Now we work very intuitively and complement each other well.
PK: Do you think this is something that anyone could do, or does such work require any specific skills?
It depends. I think that if someone wants to do everything on their own, it requires a lot of determination and discipline. If someone wants to make a living selling the products they create, interpersonal skills are particularly important - to be able to develop such a business, you need to be charismatic and have good contact with customers.
PK: Are you the first person in your family to decide to take up crafts?
I'm not the only one, my grandfather was a carpenter and my mother is a sewing person. So maybe the fact that I've always liked making things is partly because of that. My dad does some carving, but he treats it only as a hobby. I decided that I wanted to earn a living this way, and my loved ones supported me very much.
PK: Has there been any major change in the few years since you started running the studio? Is there a moment that you consider a breakthrough?
Such a moment was definitely the start of online sales. Creation of a well-designed and efficiently operating online store and good quality promotional materials. Thanks to this, we currently sell most of our products online. I think this works so well because even though we sell products online, we show our authenticity. Customers see that we create our products with passion. We show our premises at Plac Matejki in Krakow, as well as how the stripes are made and who creates them.
People who buy belts from us know where these products come from. We show that we are proud of our products. We guarantee they will be great, and it works. Residents of Krakow usually prefer to visit our store instead of ordering a belt online. We also have a lot of clients from other parts of Poland who are already our clients and like to visit us in the studio. There are also foreign clients.
PK: When you talk about foreign customers, do you mean tourists who discover your place while visiting the city?
This also happens, although not as many tourists visit us here as in our previous location on Pijarska Street. There, tourists constituted approximately half of the clients visiting the studio. Currently, foreign customers are mainly people who remember us from the fairs we participated in. I think that this form of direct sales, such as fairs, makes them remember us.
PK: Who is your typical client?
Most of our customers are men aged around 30-40-50 who value high quality products. People who want to have a belt that will serve them for years.
PK: What makes your products last for many years?
We always put quality first.
All our products are manufactured in Poland. This is something that will not change – although sometimes it is a big challenge. Production in Poland is much more expensive than in China. These differences are very large. However, we are a local studio and we want to remain so.
PK: Can you tell us what the process of purchasing a belt looks like in your studio?
Many of our clients come to us knowing exactly what they want. If the customer is not looking for anything specific or is not sure what to choose, we always try to advise. We are asking about the use of such a belt. Will it be worn every day or for elegant occasions and so on. We also ask what type of pants it will be worn with, because we should choose a different belt width depending on it. If they are jeans, the belt should be wide - about 4 cm, and if it is to match suit trousers, narrow - usually 3 cm. For chinos, the width should be intermediate - in such cases we recommend 3.5 cm.
Once we know what width we are looking for, we focus on choosing the right color. This is the moment when the customer chooses the leather from which the belt will be made. We have various leathers and finishes available that differ not only in appearance, but also in certain properties.
One of the most popular leathers that we currently offer is waxed and oiled dark brown leather. It is very interesting because it "works" in a specific way. When we bend it, it becomes lighter, and when it is used and comes into contact with human skin, it darkens. This makes it a material that ages very nicely over time. When we tell our customers about its properties, they are always curious and appreciate its uniqueness.
PK: And what happens later, once we have selected the appropriate width and skin?
Then the customer chooses a buckle, of which we have different types. All of them are of very good quality, but for those who are looking for the best, we offer premium buckles made of copper or stainless steel.
When the customer makes a decision, we select the rivets that match the buckle and start assembling the belt. All our products are made to measure, based on the dimensions and guidelines we receive. Both on our website and in the studio, we explain how to properly measure, so ordering a perfectly fitting size is child's play. The customer gives us the waist circumference, and based on this we cut the belt and punch holes accordingly.
At the end of this process, it is also possible to personalize such a product. We usually stamp the owners' initials on the belts. Customers then feel that this product belongs to them.
PK: How long does it take to make such a belt?
It depends on how many orders we have at the moment. However, we always try to understand our clients and, if possible, help them. If someone needs a belt for tomorrow, we try to have that belt ready if we can. Sometimes customers call or write e-mails to find out what stage of production their order is at. We are always happy to provide such information. We are available by phone and in the studio and are always ready to help.
PK: Where do you get leather and other semi-finished products?
When it comes to semi-finished products, we try to focus primarily on the highest quality. We also want it to be a local product. Therefore, whenever we are able to find Polish-made materials whose quality suits us, we choose them.
When it comes to leather, we order them from various reliable suppliers. Our offer includes only grain bovine leather. They all come from Poland and are also processed here. We have an intermediary who places some orders for our workshop and cuts the leather into strips for us. These preliminary cuts are not made in the workshop - we outsource them to a local company located 40 km from Krakow. The cut leather is then tested by us. Before introducing them to our offer, we always check whether they meet all our expectations. If we see any shortcomings, we simply do not sell them.
We only use vegetable-tanned leather. This is very important to us because we want our products to be not only durable but also environmentally friendly.
An interesting fact is that raw leather costs very little. The high price of leather as a material is the result of the energy-intensive and expensive processing process. Chrome leather, i.e. chemically tanned leather, is cheaper and more common thanks to a faster production process. In the case of vegetable tanning, the process is longer, which makes such leathers more expensive and harder to obtain. Fortunately, there are tanneries in Poland that deal with vegetable tanning and they do it incredibly well. I think we've found the best tannery possible at this point.
PK: You say that you only use grain leather. How is it different from others?
Full-grain leather is simply one that consists of one piece of very thick leather. It is one single fragment, not thin layers connected together.
PK: And where do you get the buckles and other metal parts?
Currently, buckles are the only element that we import from abroad. Unfortunately, we have not yet found Polish-made buckles whose quality would meet our standards. We are not giving up - we are still looking and if we find any, we would like these elements to also be of Polish production.
PK: Where are the buckles you currently use manufactured?
The buckles we currently sell come from the Czech Republic. We hope that in some time we will be able to find Polish products of such great quality. We would also like to base our offer only on premium buckles in the future.
PK: What is the difference between the buckles you call premium and the others?
Premium buckles are made of 100% brass or stainless steel. Nothing can really happen to them, so by choosing them we know that the belt will serve us and look great even longer.
PK: You mentioned that you care about taking care of the environment. How do you respond to the opinion that the use of animal skins has a negative impact on the environment?
I understand the argument that leather straps are an animal product. However, it is worth remembering that natural leather is a waste of meat production, which, as we know, is enormous.
Appropriate use of this existing material is a better choice than using the so-called "ecological leather". A good quality leather product can be used for years or even a lifetime, which reduces the need for subsequent purchases. Therefore, wise use of animal skins can be phenomenal for the environment.
As I have already mentioned, we only use vegetable-tanned leather. This leather processing process is based on the use of substances of plant origin, which, unlike the usually used chromium, are not harmful to the environment.
This choice is therefore not only synonymous with the "zero waste" concept, but also a natural alternative to "ecological leather", which, despite its name, is a petroleum-derived and completely synthetic product.
We want to encourage people to choose good quality products and take care of them so that they serve them for years - because it is the most ecological. That's why we offer our customers a lifetime warranty on our belts. If something breaks, the product does not end up in the trash, like in the case of chain store products, but is repaired.
PK: Do you make your customers aware of the materials you use?
Yes, we try to tell them about the materials we choose and always emphasize that good quality is our priority.
We also explain that the skin will work and change over time. We are simply talking about the properties of such natural leather, which is not covered with any layer of plastic or other substances. Such a belt will wear out over time, "catch" specific abrasions and scratches, grease from hands, and so on. In our opinion, this makes such products gain character and look even better.
PK: How should you care for such products?
If we want them to serve us for many years, we must maintain them properly. We usually educate our customers on the care of leather products. Many of them do not realize that this material needs to be taken care of. We plan to make a series of videos on this topic.
We have our own series of skin care products. These are great products that we make ourselves using, among others, beeswax, which we obtain from my grandfather's apiary.
PK: Is it possible to save a badly neglected leather belt?
Often yes. If such a product was made of good quality leather, it is often enough to apply a thick layer of care product on it and let it "feed". In most cases, such a strip can be saved.
PK: In addition to belts, you also sell small leather accessories. Where did the idea to expand your product range come from?
Usually, after cutting and trimming the leather, there will be some offcuts left. We wanted to use these tiny pieces of skin in some way. This is how the idea for our key rings was born. We really like this product and we are happy that it allows us to minimize the amount of waste and be more "zero waste".
Now we will also introduce our new products that we are working on. It will be a surprise.
PK: If someone knocked on the door to your studio and wanted to learn how to create such products, would you be open to it?
We are currently running workshops where participants can make a belt with our help. When it comes to such training in the field of leatherwork, we are not undertaking it for now. At the moment, we only teach people we employ - although now they are all really great specialists.
PK: What is your motto?
“good bar, good life”
PK: Thinking about your experience as a craftsman, do you have any advice for people who want to turn their passion into a career path?
If you want to do something, just start.
PK: Why is it worth choosing craft products?
It's worth it because they are made by people who have experience in making them. People who do it with passion, choose good semi-finished products and ensure the highest quality of workmanship.
