MILLIE Harvey was in her final year of industrial design at the University of Newcastle when she was gifted her late grandfather Barry's leather-making tools.
"Nan was moving into a home and mum gave me his old suitcase, filled with leather remnants that had been in there for 40 odd years and all his original leather tools, all engraved with his initials, and hand-drawn templates," the 32-year-old Nelson Bay local recalls.
Ironically, Ms Harvey had only a week prior decided to focus on leatherwork in her studies: "I know it sounds strange, but it was almost like it was meant to be," she says.
In 2014, Ms Harvey began her bespoke leathermaking business Tamboon Leather Co, the name a reference to the Sydney street address of her grandparents.
Initially selling at local markets, the now online business has grown organically as she's mixed her traditional leather-making skills (learnt from the illustrations in the '70s era books in her grandpa's suitcase) with modern equipment to branch into new directions.
"The more I did it, the more I fell in love with how there is no way to take shortcuts. You have to learn and practise the techniques to be able to produce something that is a beautiful piece that will last forever," she says.
The bulk of Ms Harvey's work now is bespoke pieces for clients in the hospitality and tourism accommodation domestically and internationally. They include guest books and menu binders for boutique hotels in the Cayman Islands and Switzerland and luxe accommodation stretching from the south coast to Byron Bay.
"In the past six months of COVID, I pivoted into that. No one was going out or needed leather handbags so I focused on where the business was," she says.
She has branched into weddings (making favours and gifts) and demand for her workshops is high: "I love connecting with women in creative industries and I have formed some beautiful friendships. I have workshops coming up in Tasmania, it's amazing."
She uses a few leathers sourced globally that are vegetable-tanned and less harmful to the environment.
.png?w=600)
