Leathercraft with Wildhyde

Shereen and I spotted a small handmade sign along the road. Shereen liked it because it had the word WILD in it. We had arrived at the home of Wildhyde. A company where proprietor Andrew still practices the artisanal craft of tanning leather by hand. All his products from incredibly cute mouse purses to a robust manly briefcase were made by his hand. It was the latter that I simply couldn't resist, it being the only one there was. It was made uniquely from a stiffer Buffalo hide and the perfect practical solution to a lack of laptop protector.

For my sisters, however, I selected two pairs of sheepskin slippers. Sister Sally @sally_may_franz is finding herself increasingly immersed in the wild where she had become a prodigious wildlife photographer so I felt a pair of veldskoen would be in order. Each pair of shoes is made by Andrew himself with carefully selected leather, softened over many months and dyed with traditional materials. What I appreciated about the veldskoene, and why I ended up buying a pair for myself, is that the leather strapping where the laces go are sufficiently far apart that the leather can stretch without fear of the shoe becoming loose due to it reaching it's limit when the leather surrounding the eyes come together. A problem I had encountered with multiple previous pairs of Veldskoen.

We left Andrew as shopaholics on High Street Kensington , having bought far more than we intended. Later we returned to inquire about botanizing in the veld above the house. Kindly, Andrew said we could set up camp in a camping area he was developing near the house. Andrew for us represented old school farm hospitality. Shereen took the opportunity to connect with his son. He was tremendously enthusiastic in showing Shereen the farm and where he played and hid, and the tree where the owls frequented. 

This left little light left to find plants but what we did find excited me greatly. That evening we ended up having a hot shower from a donkey boiler. Shereen braaied sausages which we ate in hot dog rolls. The problem is that although these locally produced sausages were relatively cool on the way in, the chilli had a hell of a bite on the way out and left both of us with diarrhea the next morning. Andrew also provided an office for me to scan plants in. At 04:30, while it was still dark, Andrew was there to see us off on our way to our hot air ballooning experience. A kinder man I have seldom encountered!

Catch his products, if any are left: @wildhyde_handmadeRead more