Dimitrios & Esther Tsatsas

Tsatsas

Leatherworker

©Ramon Haindl

In search of the perfect bag

His bags combine traditional skills and contemporary design
Many of the designs are unisex
The company has collaborated with German designer Dieter Rams

Dimitrios Tsatsas spent many summers helping out at the fine leather workshop belonging to his father, who arrived in Germany from Greece 40 years ago. His father did not expect him to follow his path, and Dimitrios proceeded to study industrial design. He met his wife, the architect and event designer Esther Schulze Tsatsas, and the two design perfectionists began travelling often for work. Longing for the perfect bag for those trips, they decided to take the matter into their own hands – and those of Dimitrios’ father. Their final design received so many compliments that in 2012, they decided to launch their own business. Each bag is handmade, numbered, and often has a signature lining as blue as the Greek sky.

Interview

Why is there a leather tradition in your region?: The river! It attracted a settlement of tanneries. At one point, it was Europe’s main tannery centre, with workers in all aspects of the trade, including manufacturers and merchants. When my father moved here many years ago, there were still many. Now, sadly, their number has dwindled.
Your designs are deceptively simple – surely that takes time?: Yes, sometimes people underestimate the effort it takes to create a good design. Each pattern has hundreds of parts, and they need to be cut, sharpened, split and then sewn together. We worked for a long time on the seams of the zippers for example. Translating thought into reality might take two years.
Does architectural construction inspire you?: Yes, as do music and contemporary art. Some of our bags are named after the painter Cy Twombly. Our signature bag is simply called Lucid, reflecting our search for clarity.
It seems your peers in the design field appreciate your work…: We were very excited when Wallpaper* asked us to participate in their handmade project and show at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. We worked on a travel trolley, KAGE. It was our first trolley suitcase, and it was a lot of work, but it felt amazing to see it standing there once it was ready!

Dimitrios & Esther Tsatsas are master artisans: they began their career in 2012 and they started teaching in 2018