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COMPETITION Win a bespoke ANTA rug
from Homehgh
[Left] Hendry weaves together Italian vegetabletanned leather by hand [Right] A box of threads hints at the vibrant colours in her collection
him build bookcases and furniture. I didn’t realise the impact my childhood had on me creatively until I went to the Glasgow School of Art. While many of my peers were experimenting with digital innovations, I found inspiration in the traditional skills that had surrounded me growing up.
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It was 2014 and I was in my second year at art school. There was an annual sustainability project given to students at the time in collaboration with the Scottish Leather Group. Our class was presented with a huge table of leather offcuts, and everyone immediately rushed over to secure the biggest pieces they could find. I remember wondering what would happen to all the slivers of beautiful leather that were deemed too small to be useful. So it was with these remnants that I started weaving, stitching and plaiting, to build something greater than the sum of its parts.
I suppose leather is in my blood. My dad worked in the leather industry when he was my age and I grew up with a real appreciation for the material. He had left school at the earliest opportunity and joined the army before embarking on a colourful career of his own. When he eventually went to university as a mature student, he took a vegetable-tan leather briefcase which he still has today. The scuffs and marks it has picked up over the years have softened into the patina and hint at all the journeys and memories it has seen with him. If you take care of leather it’ll last generations, and get better with time.
I work with vegetable-tanned leather that hasn’t been coated or treated with any plastics that would stop it biodegrading at the end of its life. I source all my materials from Europe, and my leather comes from a family-run tannery in Italy – although
finding a more local supplier is the goal! It took me four years to launch my first collection because sustainability is incredibly important to me. Getting all my materials from Europe was a non-negotiable but it took a huge amount of time and investment. One of the best parts of owning your own business is that you don’t need to compromise. I’d rather not do this kind of work at all than not do it with integrity.
There’s an expectation that makers have an idyllic life of sipping tea and crafting away, but the days where I get to make feel like a treat – only about 30 or 40% of my time is spent actually making. On the other hand, I’ve learnt a lot about spreadsheets… Maths hurts my head, and if it wasn’t for my mum helping, I’d quickly get overwhelmed.
My motto in both life and work is take your time; if it’s worth doing then it’s worth doing right. Also, get outside! When I’m not working, I’m in the hills. I wouldn’t be able to create without the space to be myself and remember what really matters.
