How handmade leather goods (wallets, belts, bags) works

Hand-stitch wallets, card holders, belts, key rings and small bags from leather and sell them as gifts and everyday goods.

Who it suits: Patient, precise people who enjoy hand tools and are happy to practise on offcuts before selling.
Who pays: Gift buyers (Father's Day, birthdays, year-end), corporate gifts with initials, tourists at markets.
What they get: A gift that lasts for years and can be personalised.
Is there demand?: Small SA leather makers sell hand-stitched wallets at published prices of R250 (Looi Leather), R450 (IsiKhumba) and R480 to R1,350 (Hills Leather). Vegetable-tanned belt strips cost from about R80 each (Leatherite), whole upholstery-weight hides about R355 to R490 per square metre (Whitehouse Upholstery), and a basic hand-stitching kit about R450.
Real examples: Instagram

Craft markets

Corporate gift orders

Bob Shop

AYA Africa

A good sign: five sales or a first corporate quote request.

Do it now

Tick it off when it is done. Your ticks are saved on this device.

Pick an answer to see how you did.

In a typical case, how long until the first money comes in?

Your challenge

Make three card holders from offcuts and compare them with the products above.

You are done when:

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Sources and links (4)