There are some possessions we can never part with. They’re the sentimental keepsakes layered with memories and meaning. The one-of-kind handmade piece that is irreplaceable. And the everyday objects you just can’t live without. When you surround yourself with possessions like these, you surround yourself with stories worth preserving.
If the tools used to make Tamboon Leather Co’s wares could talk, they too would have many a story to tell. As their custodian, Millie Harvey is dedicated to honouring the story behind them – and that tale is one we can all connect to: family history.
Using these tools, Millie crafts leather goods designed to last a lifetime. She is deeply connected to her work, not just because she makes each piece by hand, but also because of how her business came to be.
Millie was coming to the end of her industrial design degree at the University of Newcastle when her mother surprised her with a bag of leather tools. “My mum was going through my grandma and late grandfather’s house and she came home and said ‘Oh, I’ve got a surprise for you’,” Millie recalls.
“She didn’t realise I already had an interest in leather craft and pottery, but she just felt this was my gift. It felt like a sign … it was really powerful.”
That weathered suitcase of vintage tools landed in Millie’s possession just as she was trying to work out what to do with her career. She had been curious about traditional craftsmanship and she leapt at the opportunity to explore how she could bring modern appeal to age-old manufacturing techniques and materials.
Millie threw herself into the task of learning how to craft leather goods, clear on her intention to make products that would age gracefully with their owner.
If the tools used to make Tamboon Leather Co’s wares could talk, they too would have many a story to tell. As their custodian, Millie Harvey is dedicated to honouring the story behind them – and that tale is one we can all connect to: family history.
True to this ethos of creating enduring design, the first product she prototyped – a rucksack – is still a core part of her collection five years on. Once she had honed her craft and developed a product,
she named her business Tamboon Leather Co after the street her grandfather had lived on.
Her range has now grown to include wallets, clutches and bags. She also works with hotels and restaurants to create custom-designed leather binders for guest room guides and menus and has collaborated with designer and writer Natalie Walton to design a collection for her online store.
New pieces for Tamboon Leather Co are developed in capsule collections and released in sync with Millie’s own inspiration, rather than the fast-moving fashion seasons.
“I like to design with as little design as possible,” she explains of her approach. “What I put out there is design that’s honest, unobtrusive and long lasting. Leather is a material that has integrity and with colour palettes that are soft, it’s unobtrusive. When people buy it, they can be self-expressive without the product taking over that.”
She is reminded of this design philosophy every time she sits down at her workbench and picks up her hole punch. “When I first started, I went out and bought a hole punch as a backup,” she recalls. “I pulled it out of the plastic and it didn’t even work, so it’s gone to the side. Of course, I’ve gone straight back to my grandfather’s products knowing that they just last forever.”
That same timeless quality is imbued into everything Millie does. She hopes that by sharing her story with authenticity and using sustainable production techniques, she can play a meaningful role in the slow fashion conversation.
Millie threw herself into the task of learning how to craft leather goods, clear on her intention to make products that would age gracefully with their owner.
However, she isn’t naïve to the challenges of teaching people how to shop in a more sustainable way.
“As a business selling a product, it is our role to actually educate our consumers in a way that redefines their values,” she explains. “The only way people are going to know more about products and where they come from and their lifecycle is if they are actually exposed to the honesty of the product.”
Knowing that she works with a material that is so enduring, Millie has deliberately developed a minimalist aesthetic.
“Leather is something that lasts for a lifetime and is not going to go out of fashion. It basically speaks for itself in terms of being a product that you are going to invest in,” she says. “It’s something that you are going to fall in love with and be able to pass on to someone else.”
Millie finds much of her inspiration walking along the beach at Port Stephens. These walks keep her grounded; maintaining her sense of connection with the place she has always called home. She also credits the community she has built in Newcastle as a big driver of her creativity.
“Leather is something that lasts for a lifetime and is not going to go out of fashion. It basically speaks for itself in terms of being a product that you are going to invest in.”
As well as producing her own collections, Millie collaborates with other creative and local business on custom commissions.
One day she will be making her own range of products and the next she will be crafting branded leather labels for a pastry chef or bespoke pieces for an interior designer.
As well as producing her own collections, Millie collaborates with other creative and local business on custom commissions. One day she will be making her own range of products and the next she will be crafting branded leather labels for a pastry chef or bespoke pieces for an interior designer.
“I get to work with all these amazing people who are inspiring to me,” Millie says. “To do different projects all the time is super fun.”
But as varied as her work has become, Millie still points to the simplicity of her craft as her main source of motivation. “Something that has been handmade has come from one person and gone to another is really lovely and just so simple,” she says. “I love to be hands on, I love to be practical and I love to make something that people can feel good about.”
Words: Melinda Halloran | Photography: Zoë Lonergan
As seen in Swell Issue 3.
