People assume raffia and leather are opposites: one light and airy, the other dense and warm; one for the beach, the other for the city. Working with both this year has convinced us of the reverse. They ask for the same thing from the people who make them, and they reward the same kind of patience.
Time is the material
A FELUS raffia bag takes a weaver in Madagascar continuous, attentive work. The leather pieces taking shape in Athens are not quicker. Edges are finished by hand, in passes, with drying time between each. Stitching is done at the pace of a person, not a machine. In both cases, what you are eventually holding is mostly time, made visible.
The hand leaves a signature
Look closely at a handwoven raffia piece and you can see the rhythm of a particular weaver — a slight tightening here, a looser passage there. Leather worked by hand carries the same signature in its edges and its stitch spacing. We have never wanted to sand those signatures away.
Made between two worlds, again
Our raffia pieces are woven in Madagascar, and we have always described FELUS as made between two worlds. Leather adds a third room to the same house. Different hands, a different bench, the same standard: nothing leaves until someone is proud of it.
A little closer
We said we would not show you the pieces yet, and we are keeping that promise. But we will say this much: they are not a departure. If you have held a FELUS bag, you already know the feeling we were chasing. This autumn, in Athens, we found a second way to make it.