f²: On the 7th Day of Christmas
On the 7th day of Christmas, my true love gave me Doe handmade leather goods with a family history of British manufacturing included.
Leather designer Deborah Thomas’ great great grandfather founded W. Pearce & Co. in 1908 at the age of 22. Eventually the company became of Northampton’s flagship manufacturing companies. Known around the world for its creative leather embossing techniques. In the 90’s unable to compete with the lower cost of overseas manufacturing, the company closed its doors in 2003. Enter Deborah who launched Doe ten years later selling her own bridle leather designs and injecting life back into the family history. With each of her designs, she includes an exquisite detail fashioned straight out of the company’s collection of archive leather prints. “Every season we select up to a dozen to hand stitch into zip pulls, discs behind brass closures and pen loops and then we integrate these items into our products,” Deborah says. “Effectively, each Doe piece is part of a collectible and limited edition.”
For more information about Deborah Thomas and Doe Leather, read Rewriting British Leather History.
