Values

Sustainability

We believe that clever and engaging design can be the antidote to over-consumption, by exponentially increasing the life-span of a product. 

We don’t just want to make ‘stuff’, but joyful, thoughtful, kits of possibility. While we craft everything to last - we also make it easy for you to craft your own personality into each item - so that you’ll want to keep it forever. 

Maybe your passport cover will start with a few speckles of thread and over the years the map becomes filled with embroidered crosses. As you get more confident with stitching, maybe you’ll cover your wallet or jewellery wrap with patterns and colours inspired by your trips. Or perhaps you will create a personalised hand-stitched luggage tag for your Aunt, even though you’ve not picked up a needle since school... Our products are special because of the stories that become a part of them. We want to make sure your treasured accessories survive for a life-time - designed to evolve as you carry on chasing threads.  

Buy One, Get One Tree

We recently partnered with Ecologi to harness collective action, and help to make a positive climate impact with every order.  

Ecologi facilitate the funding of carbon offset projects and tree planting around the world. Their mission is to reduce 50% of global CO2 emissions by 2040 and responsibly plant billions of trees every year.

They plant trees with numerous certified reforestation schemes around the globe. Tree planting is one of the best tools to prevent our planet from rising above 1.5C , that’s why we‘ve decided to donate a percentage from each sale we make, to plant a brand new tree.

You can read more about it or see our progress - and your direct impact - with our Tree Tracker.




Production

We work with a family run manufacturer, who we visit regularly to check production and develop new products (probably before sharing an awesome dim sum lunch!). They are certified by SEDEX / ISO which is a leading body in sustainability and ethical treatment of workers. They share our principles of social and environmental responsibility and strive for continuous improvement of ethical performance within their supply chain. 

All products are finished and checked by hand so we can make sure our quality is always excellent (we are really lucky to have had nothing but lovely customer reviews, you can see some testimonials here). 

Materials

For the majority of our products we use responsibly-sourced cow leather which is a split grain. This means it is created from the fibrous part of the hide which is very durable but can still be perforated successfully, making it easy to stitch through without difficulty. Our range of colours is achieved using a coating of pigment, which gives the leather a luxe quality and is still soft to the touch. 

We believe in offering consumer choice, so have introduced a vegan range made from a high quality PU. We are always on the lookout for exciting sustainable materials, and as soon as they are commercially viable we would love to experiment with other vegan alternatives. 

We use up almost every bit of the leather & PU bought to make our collections and have recently started to develop small products and components that can be made from the scraps, damaged or imperfect leather, so as to reduce waste even further. We don’t do seasonal or fast-fashion so never need to have end of line sales or throw away ‘out-dated’ stock, and we only introduce new products if we are VERY excited about a new idea, and after plenty of testing and agonising.

In 2019 we committed to stop using any single-use plastic for packaging. Even though clear polybags were useful to reduce in-store damage and give extra protection during shipping, we decided it was not worth using at the expense of the planet. Some products from our original orders are still selling through with plastic sleeves, but all stock is now packaged in our recyclable card boxes only. 

 

Gateway into stitching

Our products are not necessarily designed for crafters, and quite often we find that until they find us, our customers have maybe not picked up a needle for many years (if ever!). 

We like to think these simple cross-stitch ideas can be used as a gateway to inspire more stitching and crafting projects. There are so many great ways you can upcycle your homewares or accessories with simple embroidery, fix clothes or buttons with simple stitches or even create something new with old fabric. We vow to continue developing inspiring stitch kits and sharing projects that inspire us to live more mindfully, sustainably and creatively. 

Analogue life

The world is filled with digital distractions and high-tech solutions that take our attention. Inspired by traditional embroidery, we believe in the value of slowing down – using your hands, putting pen to paper and needle through fabric. 

Of course, you could create a far more accurate record of your world travels by using technology (FindPenguins has a nice app for this!) but there is such satisfaction in the hand-stitched cross, marking your movements and making your accessories as unique as you are. 

Our products celebrate the analogue in the age of ‘apps’ and encourage us to make the most of our travels and experiences by taking time to record them in a physical way.  

Supporting original design

Unfortunately we have been on the receiving end of copying more than once. It is heart wrenching when you have put your life into designing, developing and nurturing your original ideas, to see them ripped off. You can see our most recent battle with this here. We are proud to support original design & only ever sell other products we believe in. 

Designers should have better protection when their IP rights are infringed, and we stand with the design community to protect those rights. 

And beyond...

We continue to look for ways we can do better and make a positive impact in the world. We are very open to collaborations and new ideas so please do get in touch if you have anything you can share.