The Ettinger Factory

ETTINGER FACTORY

Unexpected shapes with smart details, functionality, a new luxury feel with a contemporary price point.

Ettinger has been producing luxury leather goods for over 90 years and remains one of the few British leather manufacturers still making in the UK. As a brand that values British craft, it has been important for us to continue this legacy and encourage innovation, while maintaining the high quality that is synonymous with our name.

CLERKENWELL FACTORY 1950s - 1999 

Historically, the finest leather goods in Britain were always made in London, where the country’s best tailors, perfumers and trunk-makers all held shop.

In the 1950s, after returning to London following WWII and re-establishing the business, Gerry seized the opportunity to purchase a factory in London's historic leather quarter. Ettinger had been commissioning orders of briefcases from the Prestwick Luggage factory since 1935, so when its owner retired, acquiring the factory was a natural progression for the business.

The factory was located at No. 40 St John's Street in the Clerkenwell neighbourhood, near Smithfield Market, a thriving hub of leather craft at the time. Acquiring this factory enabled Ettinger to expand its range significantly, offering his clients a variety of innovative accessories.

Maintaining leather workshops in central London was unfortunately not tenable, as those areas were being gentrified and rents pushed workshops out of town. This led Gerry to start working with factories out of town, most notably in Walsall, Birmingham.

WALSALL FACTORY 1999 - NOW 

Ettinger had been working with one of Walsall’s oldest manufacturers for some time and when in 1999 the factory was up for sale, Ettinger decided it was time to increase its own manufacturing capacity and so bought the factory out with all its workforce.

Walsall, on the northern outskirts of Birmingham was home to thousands of factories and workshops in the leather trade and was very much at the heart of saddlery, harness and small leather goods making in England. This was at a time where Britain’s industries still relied heavily on horses and leather straps of all kinds. However, mechanisation and especially globalisation meant that most of these factories closed in the late 1990s.

James Homer Ltd was one of the oldest surviving leather goods factories, established in 1890 and having always occupied the same building. When Ettinger took over the factory, production standards were raised in order to meet international luxury standards and considerable investment has made over the years to maintain and upgrade the factory, as well as train staff.

hello

CRAFTSPEOPLE

"Most of us have one or several family members that have worked in the small leather goods making industry"

- Gary Billingham, Factory Manager & Pattern Maker

Ettinger takes great pride in its craftspeople. Among the last to still make leather goods in the UK, the quality of our goods and attention to detail are paramount to our success. We continuously improve our quality control to ensure the highest standards throughout the production process.

Gary Billingham

Factory Manager & Pattern Maker

Gary has worked in our factory since he was 16 and, needless to say, has a wealth of experience under his belt. He is our main pattern and sample maker and is also the factory manager. Pattern making means transforming a 2D drawing (or sometimes nothing more than a small description over the phone) into a working 3D model by creating all the necessary parts of the item. These parts are generally made of cardboard first and then hand cut in leather.

Meg Sims

Quality Controller

Meg ensures our quality control is second to none. She's been working in the the Ettinger factory since she was 16, so her eagle eye is certainly well trained. In the factory she ensures our production runs smoothly and manages a team of outworkers.

Meg is the first point of contact for our suppliers, and ensures we have the best product available on the market.

In recent years Meg has been at the helm of our initialling service, perfecting the skills and producing the finest results.

hello