Hi I'm Tim Cole. I've always been interested in making things, and particularly enjoy creating something special and personal for someone. I began making gifts for friends and family. It's a great way to show how you feel about someone.

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Ever since I was young I have tried new crafts, everything from origami to stone carving, but I first became seriously interested through experimenting with engraving on plastic, creating pieces of art, inspired by films or books I had read. From there I moved on to glass engraving and then focused on leather. I enjoy the versatility of leather as a material. It can be cut and shaped, dyed, and tooled in so many ways. The design of my leather coffee cup sleeve was arrived at after trying out different shapes and different fastenings to arrive at the most attractive and usable solution. Of course, the design works equally well when the sleeve is used as a leather tea cup holder!

Whilst studying for my interior design degree I particularly enjoyed playing in the workshop experimenting with materials. I did this so that I could specify materials confidently in designs and then learn how far I could push the boundaries.

I draw on many sources of inspiration for my designs: places I've travelled to, my love of sailing and riding (you'll see lots of designs featuring boats and horses) and my new hobby of salsa dancing. Once I am happy with a design it can be tooled onto my handmade leather gifts.

The handcrafted leather journals that I make as commission-only items are a wonderful canvas for ideas. The additional space compared to the coffee sleeves gives real scope for interesting designs.

I love the challenge of taking an idea and turning it into beautiful, useful objects.

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