Meet Your Local Craftsman

Aaron Johnson

Aaron has over 10 years experience in leather working but is always trying to learn new techniques, try new things and grow his skills base.

Kathleen Johnson

Kathleen started working for a jeweller when she was 14 and although she has gone on to do many other things since then she has always returned to doing jewellery.

Hi, we are your Craftsman: Aaron and Kathleen Johnson.

We have always had a passion for creating and making things and have had our own small brands selling our goods individually. Now that we have been married for a while we thought it was about time we started a joint brand. 

And so The Local Craftsman was born.

Honestly, it would have been born a lot sooner but we couldn't decide on a brand name. Both of us had struggled to find something perfect, occasionally changing our individual brand names because they just didn’t fit us.

We both think of our selves as crafters and love the idea of the local craftsman who lives in your neighbourhood and can make you anything you want. You can ask them for custom made things or even get your favourite bag or wallet duplicated or fixed. 

In todays consumerist culture you can buy things so cheap that they have lost their value, are sort of ‘throw-away’ items and are no longer cared for in the first place.

While we can't change that, we do want to offer an alternative.

Products and goods that are handmade, that have a story and are unique to their owner - even if 1000 of them are made because you can't duplicate nature and how the owner uses it. Two wallets made at the same time will still be different as they use natural full grain leather that has scars and imperfections and are hand-cut and hand-sewn. As with two rings, the sizes will vary person to person but also as a handmade object they will always be slightly diffferent, making them completely yours.