Jayavardhan of TwoHorns, a leather design house in Chennai shares with us his venture, inspirations, team and his line up at the By Hand From The Heart Makers Market this September. Read on…
A bit about yourself and Two Horns.
I am a B.F.A (Visual Communication Design) grad from the College of Fine Arts, Chennai; with a background in product design. My wife Sujitha and I decided to start-up a leather design label two years ago. Our common interest in leather lead us to research in design and techniques; and we finally decided to design products using vegetable tanned full grain leather. We mastered our working skills and sourced the best tools from across the globe to facilitate production in a small set up at our residence. We began to customise designs for friends and family; and within a years time we began to cater a wider audience. Both of us quit our full-time jobs and decided to scale up our venture. That’s the story of “Two Horns”.
How would you describe what you do; and how long have you been making and creating?
Handmade is the working method and style that aptly describes what we do. At Two Horns we design and manufacture leather goods made of Veg-Tan Leather. Our aim is to create organic and long-lasting products for our customers.
Professional hand tools are used to craft a unique bind of classic and contemporary leather products. The various stages of production process is what leads us to perfection. We follow a unique workflow and craftsmanship in making our products communicate and ensure quality confidence to our customer
When concept combines with right design and material a product is born, but these three aspects of combination is rather inspired by our nature and environment. The need to create a product arises to quench the thirst for creativity and passion, we at Two Horns dream to bring to life the products that has its own form and life. All the untold stories in the process of producing our beautiful products is what drives us to explore new boundaries. We thrive to make our product to be a part of our customer’s life and create the best products because that is what our customers deserve. Products that makes itself one with the individual and matures with the usage is what our products are meant to be made for and made of.
The leather goods you craft are Handmade with Vegetable Tanned Leather. Explain.
Vegetable-tanned leather is tanned using tannins and other ingredients found in different vegetable matter, such as tree bark prepared in bark mills, wood, leaves, fruits, and roots. Each vegetable tanned full grain leather hide is handpicked from the best tannery.
Tell us about your team.
Our team comprises of six individuals including the two of us. At the workshop every team member is trained with the basic understanding about leather and the making process that includes leather hide separation, thickness check, pattern cutting, stitching, polishing and QC.
What are you bringing to By Hand, From The Heart.
We will showcase key fobs, wallets, clutches, sling bags, pouches, back packs, iPad sleeves, passport case and more.
What/who inspires you?
Inspiration for us comes for varied sources starting from movies, photography, international handmade makers, blogs , travelling, books, magazines etc.
Describe your work premises & what is a typical day at TWO HORNS, like.
Our typical day at Two Horns is divided into four stages. Once the pattern is finalised we go in for the leather selection suitable for the final product. The second stage is the pattern cutting or punching where the products shape is cut from the hide.The third stage is the preparation of the cut product pattern to be made perfect and stitched that is finally followed by implementing brass accessories and polishing the final product
What is your favorite TWO HORNS pick right now? And why?
All our products are close to our heart, if anything particular then its the Biker Tank Case. Biker Tank Case is a specially designed leather product for bikers in particular. This case can be attached on the front tank of the bike while riding the motorcycle and when can be used as a sling bag when not riding.
What’s the best thing about being a design entrepreneur?
The best thing about being a design entrepreneur is that you tend to fulfill your creative aspirations and try to make a living out of it. The challenges faced while combining the creative part of designing and business is what drives us to move forward.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten along the way in building your business?
Delivering Quality and Gaining Trust is the way of life.
By Hand From The Heart: MAKERS MARKET – 21st Edition
Date: Friday – Saturday, 8th – 9th September, 2017
Time: 10:00 a.m – 8:00 p.m
Venue: Crowne Plaza Chennai Adyar Park
Address: 132, T.T.K Road, Alwarpet, Chennai – 600018, Tamil Nadu. India
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