Written by Menswear Style in Brands on the 5th April 2016

A small, Birmingham-based exotic leather goods manufacturer whose ultimate purpose is simply to create. “To make, is to be. That is the reason why we exist”. Enter a duo who share an endearing passion for high-quality leather goods: Sunny and Paddy. They sometimes create one-off pieces and limited edition runs, as they showcase in their ‘Atelier Collection’. They also create wonderfully handmade iPhone cases, wallets, cardholders and bags for both Men and Women.

Vertstone source only leathers from the finest tanneries around the globe to set the tone right from the start of their creative journey - “We do not care for cheap imitation leathers, inferior materials or cost-efficiency. What we do care for is our love for craftsmanship and leather. When we produce something, we do so with love. It isn’t mass produced. We only hand make in very small quantities. We do not follow trends. There are no retailers or middlemen. You connect directly with the House of Vertstone.”

Vertstone’s core focus is on handmade exotic leather goods that are made with dedicated craftsmanship and with only high quality materials, blended with a unique design aesthetic. Paddy elaborated on this. “We both said from the very beginning that we wanted to focus on exotic handmade leather accessories to give people wonderful articles that are crafted with passion, creativity, finesse and style”. Sunny exclaimed “We do this so that when a person pulls out their iPhone or goes to settle the bill, they feel like they own a part of us - a true piece of our art. There’s no propaganda around what we do – we just want to give people accessories that have been created with true quality and dedication from start to finish”.

Hand-crafting everything in their small workshop in Birmingham, and using sumptuous leathers such as Alligator, Lizard and Ostrich, they also allow you to monogram your initials onto your item in order to make it truly yours. Their designs are different to those available today and they aim to harness creativity and showcase talent throughout their brand. They allow us to really feel their heart beating in the palm of our hands. When you hold a Vertstone product, you truly possess the centre of their handcrafted leather universe.

They believe that you simply deserve the best. And nothing else will suffice. Outsourcing just doesn’t cut it for them. In the realm of Vertstone, dedicated craftsmanship is written into their DNA – you simply cannot convince them that they’d be better off manufacturing in China. Whilst they are competing in a highly competitive market to say the least, they are extremely focused, driven, ambitious, dynamic and above all, refreshing. Welcome to the House of Vertstone.

This Made in Birmingham Handmade Exotic Leather Goods company, Vertstone, is owned by duo Sunny and Paddy.