Growth & Jobs | My Old Man Leathercraft

Fuelled by the drive to honour his late father’s legacy of leather artisanship, Zeelah Davis and his wife, Marvine, started a business creating handcrafted leather products in 2016.

My Old Man Leathercraft, aptly named in commemoration of Davis’ father, Peplo Davis, offers a wide range of what is described as “vintage-style leather goods” such as minimalist pocket wallets, purses, business cardholders, male and female belts, and key rings. They also manufacture laptop, messenger and crossbody bags, pouches, and more.

An IT specialist by day, Davis said he was looking for an opportunity to supplement his salary, and while researching, he saw a minimalist wallet online, and it caught his attentionas something that he could make and sell.

“My dad was into leathercrafting. When I was younger, he couldn’t find a suitable bag for him to carry his work tools, so he went into leathercrafting to make this one bag that was sturdy enough to carry them,” he explained. “We (his family)also ended up with his crafted bags. That was where I got the experience of leathercrafting. So, years later when I saw the wallet on the Internet, it [brought] back memories,” he said.

Subsequently, Davis ordered some leather on Amazon, made a wallet for himself and showed it to a co-worker who said he liked it and wanted one. That was his first sale.

“Other persons asked about the wallet, which I designed as a small, slim profile, front-pocket wallet. I mainly promote carrying wallets in the front pocket because of the health risk it can have on one’s sciatic muscle,” he pointed out.

After the wallet gained some traction in sales, he introduced belts and other items.

UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

Mrs Davis, who is the administrative and marketing support behind the business, added that similar to how her late father-in-law influenced her husband to start his leathercrafting journey, he was influenced by their son to start making leather belts because he had his belts replaced regularly because of poor quality.

“I remember in 2016, our son was attending high school, and we were sick and tired of purchasing imitation leather belts because we would buy them thinking it’s leather and within three months, it started cracking and peeling. That’s when Zeelah took matters into his own hands and crafted his first leather belt. Little did he know that that simple act would start a passion that would lead to an unexpected journey,” she shared.

She added that the belt lasted throughout high school for their son, and he only had to get a new one because he outgrew it.

Davis uses his evenings and weekends to focus on the business and make the products at home. He has handsewn exclusively for two years until he got a specialty hand machine to speed up the process. He pointed out that while the larger items are created using the hand machine, the smaller items are still handsewn. He recently invested in an electric machine, which he says, he has yet to use.

Operating primarily through social media managed by Mr Davis with tips from their two children who are in university, and pop-up events, My Old Man Leathercraft was one of the artisans to, this year, open a storefront at the first artisan village in Jamaica. The store, known as The Tanners, is located at The Artisan Village at the Falmouth Pier in Trelawny and is managed by their store assistant.

Mrs Davis added that their clientèle has widened significantly over the years, and the business has been steadily growing.

The team was recently at the JN Mall Pop-Up Shopping Experience put on by The Jamaica National Group from November 29 to December 1.

“The successes have come through the pop-ups that we’ve had because we have been involved in pop-ups for so many years, all over the island, so a lot of people know us because of that. One of the things that is a vision for us is taking the products overseas, to festivals and events aimed at showcasing Jamaican products,” she said.

She stated: “Our experience at the [JN] Mall was excellent. It was a top-tier production that had little or no overhead cost for us as artisans, so we were very grateful for that experience. Usually, when we go to a pop-up we have to pay for registration or some other fee and JN absorbed those costs and provided a showcase for us and other small businesses. We are grateful for the brand exposure that it provided.”

Mrs Davis says their product line and inventory have grown over time as they have introduced duffel bags and other travelling items, wall décor with a Jamaican twist, male slippers, backpacks, armbands, and most recently, items made from a fusion of canvas and leather.

“Customers can also have their orders personalised with their names or quotes of their choice,” she shared.

Orders are currently taken through their social media pages, WhatsApp correspondence, and phone calls to the number provided on their social media pages. She noted that very shortly, they will be creating and launching their website to facilitate more online orders, especially for export, as they want to expand into the diaspora market.