CLE Shops: Freddy Hill Design

This past weekend, I was invited to tour the Freddy Hill Design studio in Lakewood, just a few minutes from my house. If you're not aware of the brand, Freddy Hill Design creates one-of-a-kind, handcrafted furniture and home accessories, as well as leather goods, and being the bag fanatic that I am, there's no way I was going to pass up this invitation!

So, Saturday morning, I made my way to the studio to meet with Nina Kocan, who works with Freddy and actually designs and creates their leather bags and accessories. Nina's degree is in education and art, and she joined Freddy a couple of years ago seeking a career that would let her explore her creative side and work with her hands. She initially started as Freddy's apprentice, creating furniture-- the bag line was a result of an experiment into an upholstery line, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today, the Freddy Hill Design line of bags and leather goods is created completely in Lakewood, by hand, from locally sourced materials. Everything from the leather (that comes from a local tannery), to the vintage brass details, to the logo, are all created and sourced right here in Northeast Ohio. Which is really pretty amazing if you think about it.

The bag line has a heavy focus on totes, which fall into primarily three categories: raw leather (these are unlined and feature an interior leather pocket), the regular totes (lined with cotton lining, featuring 2 pockets and a zippered pocket, as well as a leather and brass keyring), and the hair-on-hide totes, which I absolutely LUUUUURVE!

These hair-on-hide totes are really quite amazing-- they are hand painted, and like the regular totes, feature a cotton lining, two interior pockets, a zippered pocket, a leather and brass key ring, magnetic closure and brass details. The bag has a really amazing texture, and like all natural leather, will last a long time and wear absolutely beautifully. Nina was gracious enough to gift me my very own hair-on-hide tote, which I've been carrying around all week. The bag has attracted a lot of attention and compliments!!

You can check out the Freddy Hill Design line of bags online, or at local boutiques like LINGG.

I know I didn't spend a lot of time talking about Freddy's furniture line, but it is really beautiful-- I encourage you to take a look at the collection online, at his studio, or on Instagram!

Disclosure: As I mentioned before, I was gifted one of the hair-on-hide totes that you see in the picture above. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. I absolutely LUUUUURVE supporting talented designers and artists, and I thank you for allowing me this platform to support their work! XO