In a sea of leather accessories brands, what makes Hidesign a cut above the rest? The brand makes eco-friendly leathers, which means they are vegetable tanned, are 30 per cent more expensive and take more than double the time to produce. "For vegetable tanning we use natural materials such as Pungam oil and extracts from the barks of Wattle trees and Myrobalan seeds. It takes almost 30 days (sometimes more) to cure these leathers. These natural materials give a unique look to Hidesign leathers with deep colours, good body and long lasting strength," shares Dilip Kapur, founder Hidesign.
The brand's atelier
The brand believes that the way you work should reflect your brand. Hence Hidesign does not have a system of mass manufacture. Each bag is individually handcrafted by a team of three to six artisans. The premises where artisans work reflect the brand values. The brand's atelier is constructed from bricks made of local earth and fired in kilns that were made on the premises. Hidesign established its first custom designed atelier in Pondicherry, India in 1990.
Wait till you here this. You will not find asbestos anywhere in the atelier. There is minimal use of paint; only solid raw brick fired from local earth by Ray Meeker, the well known low cost ecological building expert, himself. The place is all grass. Ray built ponds, waterfalls and streams into the layout of the atelier. The brand tries to reduce the amount of pollution it generates and tries to find ways to reuse resources. All waste water from the tannery is filtered using RO before it is let out. All waste water in the atelier goes through a natural process of filtration in the water bodies Hidesign has built as a part of the landscaping and is reused. The brand uses only vegetable extracts for tanning as far as possible. All waste material is separated and reused or sold for reuse. The brand does not burn anything. Lunch time at Hidesign is pretty much outdoors, under the trees, sitting on rock benches and tables.
At Hidesign, no work space holds more than 100 people at a given time with ample organised work space for every artisan. For the house the concern for ecology is an ongoing search for better healthier ways to live and work. It comes out of believing in it and making it a core value.
The man behind it all
Dilip Kapur was born in New Delhi and moved to Pondicherry at the age of six. He grew up in Sri Aurobindo Ashram, went to school at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. After graduating from Princeton University in International Affairs, Kapur completed his PHD at University of Denver, School of International Studies in International Affairs. He took up a job in a leather company while pursuing his PH.D. It was during those nine months that he recognised his passion towards the art of crafting leather.
He returned to India in 1977 to live in Auroville and started Hidesign, a two-man artisan shop, as a hobby in 1978 and has since masterminded Hidesign to its current leadership position. He still teaches students at Auroville on International affairs and often takes walks in the forests of Auroville with his dogs, rides his Enfield and likes to travel when he can.
He often takes long walks in the forests of Auroville with his dogs, is a voracious reader and loves fiction. He mostly interacts with people he meets through work and enjoys spending a lot of time with his family. Dilip enjoys red wine and traveling when he can. He has always been passionate about bikes and loves his Enfield.
The design dynamics
One's keen to ask him about the most iconic style from the brand and how does you attempt to creatively resurrect it as an international brand?
"Not possible to identify one style but category wise I would say Grazia for women and Castello for men. Design elements are clean simple lines and very good quality natural leathers," he shares.
Also how much has Pondicherry has influenced his creative process?
"Pondichery influence is strongest in the simplicity of design that comes from the ashram and the strong beliefs in environment from Auroville," he shares.
One's keen to quiz him about how he strikes a balance between functionality vs design. "Bags need to be functional, that's a basic given, but it is never as important as the design and innovation. No one buys a Hidesign bag because it is functional, they buy because it fulfills emotionally to make it feel more attractive and self confident."
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