Made in Melbourne: inside the workshop
A small bench, three machines, and the daylight off Sydney Road. Where every RECESSION piece is cut, stitched, and edge-burnished by hand.
The workshop is a single room in Brunswick. North-facing window, a bench long enough to lay a hide flat, a Cobra stitcher, a strap cutter, a burnishing wheel, and a sink. That's the lot.
Every piece starts with a paper pattern laid over the hide. The grain runs along the length of a belt or wallet so it wears evenly. Cuts are scored with a head knife, then trimmed by hand. There's a small offcut bin under the bench — those become card holders.
Stitching
Saddle stitch, two needles, waxed linen thread. Six stitches per inch. Pricking iron sets the spacing — we use a French style with a slight angle so the thread sits flush instead of standing proud. If a thread breaks somewhere down the line, the surrounding stitches hold; machine-stitched leather unravels because every loop depends on the next one.
Edges
Edges get bevelled, sanded fine, wet with gum tragacanth, then burnished with a canvas wheel until they take on a glassy finish. This step is what separates a hand-made wallet from a factory one. Done well, the edges become harder than the rest of the piece and seal against moisture.
The whole thing takes about ninety minutes per wallet, longer for the belts. We make to order in batches. Nothing sits in inventory.
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