DARE
TO
DREAM
My creative journey started back in 2015, but I didn’t launch my website until late in 2021. Today as I reflect, I am so proud of my first collection. Each bag comes with its own distinct personality!
Back in 2015, I found myself stuck in a bit of a rut working in the fashion industry. I was lost career-wise and sought a fresh path to follow that would motivate me and allow my designs to flourish. It was a tough time, I was struggling with direction and my mental state was suffering. My light-bulb moment came when I took a step back and just started doing things that made me happy.
A family friend asked if I wanted any scraps of leather from their car interior restoration company and I said “yes”. I started to play round with the leather pieces, fascinated by their textures and colours and little did I know then, that it would be the start of a whole new adventure for me.
I quickly learned that different leathers existed and they all came with different traits and characters. I fell in love with vegetable tanned leathers and their purer qualities. Besides, they are more environmentally friendly than chrome leather which has traditionally been used for high-end, higher priced, handbags.
Many luxury bag brands use chrome leather with plastic coatings and splits which are cheaper. Most are produced abroad, in the Far East and developing countries.
lightbulb
Moment
Once I saw there was a gap in the market and one that I could fill, my concept of designing and creating premium British made handbags was born. I invested in a second-hand sewing machine and resolved to use sustainable vegetable tanned leathers, recycled/repurposed leathers or offcuts and most importantly too I would support local British suppliers as much as possible. I taught myself to hand-stitch, how to sew thick pieces of vegetable tanned leathers together and to create needle markers to improve hand sewing.
I made many mistakes, I gave up once or twice but my desire to succeed was my over-whelming driving force.
It didn’t take long to come to the conclusion that to make this a successful venture, it also needed to be profitable. This meant being more commercial and so I started visiting tanneries and leather merchants. They introduced me to the wide range of colours, soft textures and different tumbles of leather. I was beside myself with excitement and firing on all cylinders, with creative thinking and fresh design ideas coming to mind all the time.
The two-tone Signature bag was created in my parent’s garage. It wasn’t perfect but it was beautiful nonetheless because I had made it with my own two hands. I knew then instinctively that I had found the way forward, hand-making and sewing the pieces individually.
My Saddle bag followed. Taking the original concept of the Signature bag and adding to that, I improved on the overall elegance. The new bag style is a premium vegetable tan leather shell with luxury suede lining. Since, other styles have followed to make-up the collection.
The use of contrasting white stitching and high shine hardware added an equestrian aesthetic to the look. Once I had incorporated richer colours, my capsule collection of 6 original bag styles was complete!
I chose my own name for the Brand, Harriet Warrilow Designs as I needed it to be personal and to grow into an identity that my customers would respect and love.
My final touch, the ‘signature stamp logo’ is distinctive and identifies the brand today.
My bag business was born.
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“Out of darkness and some self-disbelief, in my saddest of times, came the vision and the ideas that have made me the happiest I have ever been!”
Harriet Warrilow 2023
FAQ’S
- Why do I use vegetable tan Leather for my products?
- I want to create a brand that has sustainability always in mind. Vegetable tan doesn’t use chemicals in the tanning process so it is much kinder on the environment and the brands carbon foot print. But it adds the most amazing character to each product how it patinas.
- Are the bags and products handmade?
- Yes all the products are handmade in my studio in south Staffordshire/ Shropshire border. I use a mixture of machinery a long side traditional hand stitching, edge painting and hand cutting. Each product is cared for in the utmost kindness from hide to completion.
- Can I order a bespoke handbag? Yes you can order a bespoke colour and lining by emailing me at info@harrietwarrilow.co.uk Bespoke orders normally take up to 4 weeks from the consultation to sourcing leather to final shipment.
- How much can you fit in the saddle bags? The signature saddle bag is the biggest of the family which can fit a full size water bottle, purse, wallet, coin purse, makeup and my large phone. But to everyones surprise the medium sized saddle bags like the Aryanna, Gypsy and Tinker are very roomy. I can fit in a 500ml water bottle, card purse, money purse, mirror, large phone and small makeup bag .
- What colours can I have? I can source most colours for the outer leather and also the suede linings. But please leave in mind this can change the price of the bag and not always do the colours reflect what is seen on the website.
- Are the hair on hide bags going to look the same as the image on the website? No because it is a nature product and each pattern is different to each animal. Every hair on hide bag will look completely unique.
“Always be yourself and never stop believing because if you
Dare to Dream who knows where you could find yourself!”