Leathersellers’ Alumni
Otis Ingrams
A Q&A with Otis Ingrams, founder of leather design studio Otzi and alumnus of the Leathersellers’ Foundation.
Photography by Paul Read.
Can you tell us a little about your background?
I started working with leather whilst at university and gradually turned it into my life over the next decade and a half. I was a sole trader for much of that time but about five years ago I took on my first employee and now we run a workshop with skilled woodworkers and leatherworkers, and apprentices.
What is your current employment, place of study, or profession?
I run a company that makes furniture and interior objects from leather and wood (and some linen). I design all the pieces and the small team at the workshop make them with me. My wife, Isabelle, runs the operations and the business with me.
Can you tell us more about what you currently do – any highlights?
We really have a lot of fun prototyping new pieces. There’s a huge amount of variety in our day to day, which is fun. We are innovative in our approach to designing and making so I really enjoy stretching the capacity of the leather, tools, and traditional techniques that we use in the workshop. We get to work closely with some amazing clients, who always have great ideas and an inspiring passion for handmade work.
How are you associated with the Leathersellers’ Foundation?
We are very proud to be associated with the Leathersellers’ Foundation as leatherworkers and champions of traditional leather production and craft. There is a long history of leather production in the UK and we are avidly interested in keeping the industry thriving and relevant. When I wrote my book – ‘Leatherworks’ – in 2017 the Leathersellers kindly hosted my book launch; and the Leathersellers sponsored my QEST scholarship, which was an MA in Product and Furniture Design at Kingston University in London.
What do you like about being part of the Leathersellers’ alumni network?
It’s important to me to continue to participate in discussions that are facilitated by the Leathersellers about the leather industry.
What are your ambitions for the future?
I hope to grow Otzi and take on new leatherworkers to craft our pieces. We make everything to a very high standard here in the UK and we’d like to continue to enable craftspeople to work with leather as a career here, setting a benchmark for British leatherwork that is recognised and appreciated globally.
In order to maintain the specific skill sets that we require we are aiming to set up an apprenticeship scheme to be able to train and certify employees, which we hope will demonstrate to people in the UK that it is a viable and enjoyable career path.
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