About Studio van de Laar
A small studio
Studio van de Laar is a small leather studio based in Friesland, the Netherlands.
I work from a home workshop, designing and making functional leather objects one at a time. There is no production line behind the work. I make each piece myself, from the first drawing and pattern to cutting, stitching, finishing and photography.
The studio is not built around a fixed catalogue. It is a place for developing and making objects that are meant to be used in everyday life — from bags, belts, pouches, dog collars and leads to larger pieces for travel, work and the home.
How the work comes together
Before starting Studio van de Laar, I worked as a barber and tattoo artist. I also studied building technology and have always been drawn to working with wood, tools, materials and construction.
Leather brings many of those interests together. It allows me to design, solve practical problems, work with my hands and focus deeply on one subject at a time.
Much of what I know about leatherwork has been learned independently. I study how objects are constructed, draw my own patterns, test different approaches and keep refining the details until the result feels right. A product may begin as a simple idea, but the making is where it takes shape.
Materials chosen with care
“Leather is a by-product of the food industry. Rather than treating it as disposable, I choose to give it a long and useful life.
I work with Radermecker leather, sourced from responsibly farmed cattle and bulls in Western Europe. The hides are traceable from abattoir to tannery.
The vegetable-tanned Niagara leather is chosen for its strength, dense fibre structure and ability to develop a patina through use. I use it to make objects that are designed to be carried, worn, repaired and kept.”
—Lars van de Laar, founder
I work with carefully chosen materials, including full-grain vegetable-tanned leather from Radermecker, solid brass hardware and Fil Au Chinois linen thread, which I wax by hand before stitching.
The quality of a piece is not found in a logo or a marketing claim, but in the material, the construction and the time taken to make it properly. I use traditional tools and methods not to imitate the past, but because they have proved themselves over time.
There is something meaningful about making objects today with materials, tools and techniques that would also have been understood by an older generation of makers.
Intentionally small
Studio van de Laar is intentionally small. Not to create artificial exclusivity, but to keep control over the materials, the construction and every detail of the finished object.
It also gives me the freedom to build the studio around the life I want to live: close to my family, close to nature and with enough space to do the work properly.
Some pieces are made to order. Others are developed as individual studio pieces. The common thread is simple: useful objects, serious materials and a way of making that leaves room for time.
Made to order. One at a time.
Made for a life of use.