Kopine's Story

CHIANG MAI

Rich in tradition, nature and craftsmanship, Chiang Mai was the perfect place for us to settle twenty years ago.
This large city in northern Thailand remains a bastion of traditional crafts that are disappearing elsewhere...

Handmade paper, natural dyes, pottery, bronze casting, weaving, carpentry, knife making, cement shaping and wood carving still thrive here.

NON-VIOLENCE

Living in a culture steeped in respect and non-violence has naturally inspired us to imagine original creations for a more caring world.

Our choice to develop an alternative to animal leather stems directly from this approach.

Our sources of inspiration are multiple: From the aesthetics of medieval France to Polynesian traditions and cave paintings...

Concerned about preserving the environment, we favor renewable materials and low-impact processes.

BARK LEATHER

Our bark fiber leather is entirely handmade through a multi-step process:

It all begins with the paper mulberry (Broussonetia Papyrifera), a species long used in Asia for Washi paper in Japan and in Oceania for the manufacture of Tapa...

Its long, strong bark fibers are ideal for our creations.

These fibers are processed by hand into sheets, a process similar to making paper by hand.

The leaves are assembled into a "sandwich" using latex glue, which is then pressed with a roller onto molds to emboss it and give it its texture. It is finally left to dry in the sun.

SKATES

Patinas require different techniques:
The bark of the leather can be dyed at different stages to create unique effects.
We then use acrylic paints to highlight the surface patterns, followed by hand waxing.

We work mainly with mineral waxes, tinted with iron oxide pigments.

Each product is individually patinated.

SHAPING

The bark leather is finally shaped and assembled to create the items in our collections into original and durable creations.