Alicja Sajewicz

Conversations with leather

• Alicja likes to use thick leather, so her work will last generations
• She values function above all else in her designs
• Brass is her preferred metal for making buckles

Alicja Sajewicz worked as a television and radio journalist for most of her career. Much of her job involved interviewing people from various backgrounds and professions. Spending a lot of time with artisans and people who were launching their own companies gave her the desire to become a craftswoman herself. "At some point I felt that I wanted to move from talking about other people to challenging myself," she says. There was something more to this transformation: a love of leather that went back to her childhood. "I would make my own leather stuff in elementary school. Leather would always be somewhere in my head. I felt as though it would speak to me. After an intense period in my career I decided to try to find out if, indeed, it does."

Interview

© All rights reserved

© All rights reserved

How did you change career?

I looked for an artisan who would introduce me to the profession of leatherworking. I sold my car and began to collect the tools, from in and outside Europe. Building your own workshop, all at once from scratch, takes time and money. However, I knew that was what I wanted to do.

What's the appeal of leather?

I don’t like things that get ruined easily. This is a guideline for me; I want things to be practical and last a long time. If you don't damage it, and occasionally renew it a little, good leather can be almost eternal.

Do you experiment with other materials?

I am in an experimental phase at the moment, using different materials, since more clients would like to have a piece from my collection, but not made from leather. I search for materials that are natural enough that they won’t harm the environment and will give interesting effects.

What would you advise other people wanting to get into leatherwork?

To follow their dreams with determination. The world is changing; most of our jobs might be taken by robots in the near future. However, there is one thing that machines will never be able to reproduce, and that is the human touch. That's why, I believe, craftsmanship is becoming more and more valuable.

Alicja Sajewicz is an : she began her career in

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