Peter: It started in a fairly simple way. When I was a child, my mother had me looked after by a shoemaker who lived at the bottom of our house. Rather than playing with wooden soldiers, I played with leather pieces. I would spend my days assembling leather pieces, playing with them, cutting them. I’ve always been attracted by leather, but also by woodworking, by the smells, it has always appealed to me.
After this, I did not have it easy. I had to start working when I was fifteen and a half because I was not a good student. The only two subjects I was good at were manual work and geography. Teachers did not want me in standard education; I had to find myself a job. I did not realize back then that I wanted to work with leather. I did an apprenticeship in cooking. It taught me the value of hard work. At eighteen, I had a very serious accident and had to stop cooking, even though I had a good future in this field.
After that, I had to change careers. At that time, many of my friends were making a good living as salesmen and had time to enjoy themselves, while I was working non-stop eighteen hours a day. So I decided to do the same. I had a first epiphany back then; I remembered the leather from my childhood and decided I would become a salesman for leather. I did this for a decade. I worked with Parisian leathercrafters and eventually became a product manager. I really enjoyed being in the workshop and in contact with customers.
And then I had a second epiphany – the real deal! One day I was walking rue des Rois de Sicile in Paris and I discovered a shop window that I found fascinating! There were products made of exotic leather, beautiful goods, and it just hit me, I thought ‘that‘s what I need to do’. And that’s where my desire to manufacture products stemmed from. I had spent ten years selling products but never making them. It was time to get behind the table and work the leather. It’s now been twenty years since this epiphany!
Because I had no leather training, I had to start from scratch. It was very complicated, and I had to teach myself. I went to see two craftsmen who were prestigious at the time, but they did not help me, they did not give me any advice. They followed my work because I kept going to see them when I was making a product. After seven months I delivered something. I worked every single day! I wanted to make cigar cases because I am passionate about cigars; I started with shark skin, the most difficult material. It took me almost a year to produce something that was okay. Once I had it right, I went to see the two artisans who were guiding me, and they told me I did not need to come and see them anymore because I was finally able to make a good product. It was a great victory for me.
From that moment, I began to look for sellers. I tried the big Parisian tobacconists. One of them decided to trust me; he had me working on cigar cases in crocodile leather and shark skin. Over time, I developed my business with other shops and today I work with the biggest Parisian tobacconists. Today, we also create small leather goods; we do many different things. I started out with nothing. Unlike my son Hugo, I didn’t get to study leathercraft in a major Parisian school with an apprenticeship in a famous French studio. Hugo joined me, bringing his intellectual qualities, his theoretical knowledge and his technique. Because when you are self-taught, you mainly learn through intuition. He is the third generation; he brings new ideas. Our story is all about people!
Hugo: For me, it started at a time where I was trying to find myself; I did not know what I wanted to do. During my childhood, I followed my father to the workshops, to the leather suppliers, so this environment felt very familiar. I decided to start in this field. My father let me make some items, touch very noble materials and I realized that it was a passion for me.
I find the relationship with the materials very interesting. I am really enthusiastic about makingthings; I love seeing the birth of a project. The thing I like most about my job is to start from a drawing to end up with an item that we can touch, use and that will fit someone. With this dawning passion, I decided to join a prestigious school. I had never been very good at school and my school years had been chaotic, so they hesitated to take me on. But they could feel my passion, that’s what made the difference, and they gave me a chance. I’m here today thanks to them.
I did my apprenticeship in a famous leathercraft studio, which I left because I wanted to join my father and continue our family business. Although it’s not the easiest path, I’m very proud of what I’m doing. I’m proud of this desire to strive that allows me to bring together two of my passions: fashion and leathercraft. It allows me to meet designers, stylists, artists, and I can express my artistic side by creating unique goods.
Hugo: Today, when people think about leathercraft, they think leather and classic items, while fashion is turning towards modernity, and I think we can combine leather work with very modern items. Leather goods obviously play a very strong part in fashion. You can wear a very simple outfit and accessorize it with emblematic items that will make all the difference. Fashion is an eternal cycle, we’re constantly resuming, diverting, transforming to bring things up to date. And that’s what I love doing, turning iconic items into something new in my own way. For example, putting a more modern clasp on a classic item, mixing the old and the new, bringing technique into modernity. That’s the really interesting part!
You can copy one’s work, but you can’t copy one’s creativity. If you’re truly creative, you’ll have no problem inventing things and that’s what we should be looking for. Our difference lies in the love we put in our products. There will always be an overarching theme that stands out, and it will always follow our creativity.
Peter: Today our products are distributed, but we always have a few private customers who come and see us. They essentially find us through word of mouth. Those customers are introduced through connections. Without an introduction, they can’t work with us, or they might have already seen some of our work and they absolutely want something done by us. They come looking for originality, for the skins, their colors, the combinations we make, for original, tailor-made products.
Hugo: We have different customers. Some of them are interested in the finish of the product, in the colors, while others are more interested in our skill, they want to learn.
Peter: Exactly, they’re driven by the love of leather. Some people want to discover, to touch, to be confronted with the material. They’re fascinated, it’s extraordinary! Their eyes sparkle!
Hugo: But they also come to seek advice on color harmony and making techniques.
Peter: The human relationship is also very interesting. One of my clients looked for me for a year and a half, I’ve known him for five years now and he’s always making new orders, but the crazy thing is that it’s always the same items in different leathers and colors.
Hugo: Actually, we become their leather craftsmen. Whenever they have a leather good to make, they come to us. We’re creating a story together. And the items we make for them follow them in their life. There is a part of us that shares their lives.
Peter: We love our job, we love people. We love pleasing them. My greatest pleasure is when a customer comes to pick up an item, they are so happy, it’s touching! We are very passionate about our work, but it comes with a lot of suffering. We work with our hands; we spend hours working on a product. When you work on a product your mind is set on it, you get sucked into it, it is extremely powerful. And it’s very difficult to come out of it. It is extremely complex because you are never satisfied with the product, it’s unbelievable!
We see imperfections, we are never happy with the end product, and it takes a lot of energy. The relationship we have with our products is extremely strong. But it’s a real story. But people actually like the small imperfections of our products, they’re part of them. That’s what makes up Peter Charles products and soon Studio Charles products.
Hugo: Some products are already made. I would like to finish the whole collection to present it officially. It’s a men and women collection with some unisex items. Some items for men will be adaptable to women, by playing with colors. As our history started with exotic leathers, this collection will be exclusively made with exotic leathers.
This collection is important to me because it is the first one, there will be 14 different bags and some small leather goods: emblematic items, great classical shapes that will be conceptualized with some modernity, and very modern items. We also play with many details. But you’ll know more later…
Hugo: I see a very modern, elegant woman with a little spark of the unconventional. We offer the detail that will bring style to the figure.
Peter: I think it’s going to be very complicated for young people who want to get into this trade. There are some very good schools, but it’s about what happens next. There are people who want to learn, people who are changing careers, people who are turning to manual crafts. But it’s about what happens after. Some of them join studios where they will do the same thing on an industrial scale and only work on specific items for an elite.
We also see many young people coming out of schools, wanting to start their own business and that’s something else! And there is the whole picture. I find that in France, unfortunately, it’s very complicated for business owners. We get no financial help; the banks do not help us. I started from scratch and I reinvested everything I earned in the company. Heavy taxes prevent businesses from moving forward and picturing a brighter future. Some people go abroad to offer their expertise because they are worn out by this system.
We must know how to combine traditional knowledge and new technologies. We are still craftsmen, but we are passing a milestone, we will soon become semi-industrial. And if we do not get up to speed, we’re stuck. We want to grow larger and we started building teams to surround ourselves because today we can’t grow if we keep working alone, it’s impossible. We are already thinking of buying new machines that will help us grow in production.
Hugo: It’s also important to know that the leather goods industry is doing well. It’s true that it’s very difficult to get funded, but we need to focus on the projects because there’s definitely a market there. If I have any advice for young people who are starting out, it is to learn a job, then join a company that offers growth opportunities and that will help them grow better at their job before creating their own business.
For my part, I want to be recognized as a young designer with talent and ambition. It matters to me to get recognition from the world of fashion and leather goods one day. It would make me proud. Because I am the son of someone who is already in this trade. My father created his name, I also want to create my identity. That’s why it’s important for me to be recognized by people in the business. I want us to be a Fashion House.
Peter: You see, it’s a very complex situation because we will necessarily lose some of our “craftmanship” identity. When you start selling in department stores, you need to manufacture larger quantities and we’re certainly losing part of our soul in the process. By getting more industrial, we become stale, we lose rarity. It’s obviously a problem but we have no choice.
Hugo: It’s a great strength for us to be able to live off our passion. I am happy to go to work every morning, to do what I love and to start a business. Because I think I can only get better. And this adventure really matters to me.
Peter: I love what I do, it doesn’t feel like work! I think it’s amazing. It brings me so much happiness. It’s a bit like religion, you need to have faith. We also have a phrase here: “We carry on, no matter what!”.
Interview by Barbara Sensey
Paris
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