Each week, the Gazette takes to the streets to unearth something being manufactured right here in Hackney. This week we visit Kate Sheridan’s HQ in Lower Clapton Road where she makes some of her handbags.
Some 80 per cent of Kate Sheridan’s handbags are made in Hackney – either by traditional hand crafting methods in her Lower Clapton Road shop or at a Hoxton factory.
Fashion was a natural choice for her, with a father who made jeans in the 1970s and a mother who ran a boutique.
After graduating from Cordwainers College, she won a placement to work as a press officer for prestigious designer Patrick Cox and went on to work for Johnny Moke. With a friend she set up a brand, Sheridan and Minns, after they spotted a gap in the market for screen-printed leather bags, which they made in her bedroom. Eventually Kate went solo with her own label.
“It’s all hard, running your own business, and I have two children,” said Kate, who has one assistant. “It’s grown organically.
“If we make bags in a batch we will do it in segments, and it’s like a production line. But if you are doing a one-off piece it can take all day.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here