A childhood nostalgia for handcrafted leather
- Rui turned to leather craft as a second career
- He is inspired by childhood memories to make objects for today’s use
- His pieces are made of a light-coloured bovine leather
As a child, Rui Daniel was exposed to the art of leatherwork from leather workers and shoemakers who lived nearby. “I loved to handle leather but never thought it could become my profession. After my electro-technical training, I ended up working in a bank. It was when I lost my job that I turned to leatherwork.” So Rui began a new adventure. He opened his workshop in 2015, a space where he welcomes clients and anyone interested in leather. Drawing inspiration from childhood memories and objects, his leather objects have a certain nostalgic aura, being both typically Portuguese and functional for use today. The ever useful and timeless leather satchel is a signature piece. Rui makes personalised items to suit his clients' needs and they are all fine examples of how objects of the past made today can connect us to our childhood.
Interview
- Do you use a specific type of leather for your pieces?
- I work mainly with sola, a bovine leather that is tanned using vegetable matter. The absence of chemicals makes my pieces more durable. They are perhaps not as stable as chemically produced leather, but they have a special feel as the leather ages over time.
- How do you define a leather good that is well made?
- When I feel the same sensation in a piece as I did when I was a child: the master craftsman, after finishing a piece, would say to me "It is done, it is good!" Of course, I have better technique and quality today, but that feeling in the heart is the same.
- Could you share a story of one of your bespoke leather pieces?
- One day a client brought me an old suitcase that was about 80 years old and asked me to make the same suitcase that had belonged to his grandfather. He was one of my first clients and recalling his joy when I presented the new suitcase still makes me happy today.
- Do you remember the first leather piece you made?
- It was a wallet for a girl. It took me so long to make it, as I wanted it to be elaborate. I managed. This willingness to perfect and challenge oneself daily is an important attitude which I try to instill in the people I train.
Rui Daniel is a master artisan: he began his career in 2012 and he started teaching in 2015
Works
Where
Rui Daniel
