A week ago I gave a talk to students at The Glasgow School of Art about my practice and launching my business in the middle of a global pandemic. What was meant to be a guest speaker series in the beautiful Reid Auditorium was inevitably on Zoom instead, but it felt pretty humbling all the same. I’m still getting my head around the fact that I graduated 5 years ago and not yesterday, so it was surreal to be asked back as a guest speaker to say the least!

Moreover it got me thinking about how it all started. I take for granted that it’s clear in my work, or that you’ve followed me long enough to know how this all came about. But actually it’s good to stop and remember where, how and most importantly why.

It started back in 2013 when, as a second year student, we were set a sustainability project by the Bridge of Weir Leather Company (who also happen to have the lowest carbon footprint of any leather maker in the world - big up Scotland!). We were presented with a huge table covered in leather hides and offcuts of various sizes. While everyone else was trying to grab the biggest pieces they could to make something with I started thinking about what might be possible if I just used the small discarded, slivers of leather that no one else wanted. I wanted to use every single centimetre of the hide. So using these fragments I weaved, twisted, plaited and combined them to make something greater than the sum of its parts. And this is what really kicked off my obsession with sustainably sourced leather and a desire for zero waste. Below are some photos of those original pieces. Excuse the image quality though, phones from eight years ago didn’t do what they can now!

After graduating I spent the next four years developing and honing my designs to where they are now. While my work has developed and become more refined, the essence of it remains the same. Remembering why I started always steers my designs and the way I make. For instance, those circular shapes I’m drawn to are really great for making use of tiny offcuts of leather that would otherwise be rendered useless.

Four years sounds like a really long time to develop a collection. And it is. I took years to source materials that I was happy with (it turns out I’m very picky and sourcing sustainably is a lot harder than it sounds). I made sure all my materials, right down to the backing fabric, were sourced within Europe. And along the way I’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazing creatives - who were hard to find too. I didn’t want to start until I was happy with every aspect of my business. Which is probably why my ‘wee collection’ is so wee. I wanted to keep it concise, not to overcomplicate it. To do things just right, or not do them at all.

So for the next release of bags (it’s been a busy few months making!) I’ll be sticking with my four designs. The Swing Case. The Barrel Bag. The Half Moon, and The (almost) Circular. But within those carefully considered shapes will be new colours, new combinations and of course some original classics too. I can’t wait to show you all.

Iseabal X