Hi, I’m Paul. I’ve always had a desire to understand how things work and how they’re put together, and after working for 20 years as an engineer my passion for leatherwork led me to begin work as a shoemaker making bespoke and made to measure footwear in the artisan town of Totnes.

I studied leatherworking and design techniques and learned from many skilled craftspeople who, over the years, have generously shared their knowledge with me.
Ermestone Leather finally outgrew our home and, in 2017 it became my full-time business. I now have a workshop at The Clay Factory just outside Ivybridge.

Dartmoor

I was born in Devon and consider myself lucky to still live and work here. It is a beautiful and inspiring place to live with many different types of landscape from rolling hills, beaches and cliffs, to rugged granite tors and moorland. Dartmoor still has a thriving artisan community and is rich in traditional skills and trades, legend and history. Many of these trades still use ancient and traditional methods, tools and techniques to create beautiful and practical items that are still relevant today.

Leather

Leather is an incredible material that has been used by mankind for creating beautiful and durable items for thousands of years.
I enjoy working with leather, using tools and techniques that have been around for centuries. It is a fascinating process to transform a flat piece of material such as a hide of leather and use it to create a three-dimensional object such as a bag or purse.

Different leathers lend themselves to different uses and behave in very different ways. Understanding the characteristics of this incredible material comes with experience and making some mistakes along the way.

I source all my leather from responsible, accredited tanneries and use vegetable-tanned leather wherever possible. This is produced using a more environmentally friendly process than that used to produce chromium tanned leather.

When you choose an Ermestone Leather product you can be sure that you are buying a quality long lasting item that will develop its own character and patina through age and use and will become uniquely yours.