WELCOME BACK! October 02 2021

Welcome back to my online boutique. Earlier in the year I'd decided to take a few months off to spend some time thinking about what I want to do next.  Well, it took me much longer to get back to things as I was waylaid by a few different projects while learning some new skills along the way.  

This year has probably been as strange as last year, but in a different way.   I spent a few months unsure what direction to go in until I got stuck into my prose writing, something I used to do a long time ago and had long thought I may take up again.  So come the end of the summer, a first draft of a fiction book had emerged and that's what's been taking up most of my time.  A second draft is on it's way now too.  

I also took a variety of creative online courses including leatherwork and the results are in the new collection you can see on my online boutique today.  Who knew that the most sustainably produced leather in the world is created in Glasgow?  I was so excited to read that and when the leather arrived I couldn't wait to get creating with it. 

The Isles Leather Collection reflects the pared down lifestyle most of us have been having this year, concentrating on easy to wear styles that reflect our changing habits: more walks in the country than long haul travel; perhaps more solitude where we find a quiet spot and take out a book to read; small useful accessories that feel good in the hand as well as to wear.  

Smaller bags that hold just the necessities are also reflected in the Harris Tweed collection.  I couldn't leave Harris Tweed entirely and now it will mostly be as a bespoke service with the designs that have proved most popular over the years.  

Each month I hope to bring you something new - a new material, perhaps a recycled collection, or japanese vintage kimono cloth, or washable paper - it's invigorating to look at new ways to create - and I hope you enjoy the new styles.  

Catherine Aitken