This Santa Fe designer's collection of handmade leather bags and accessories is one in a Gre-million.
In Santa Fe, a city where Western designers abound, one leather artist offers a fresh perspective on how to utilize fringe, tassels, and traditional braiding techniques. “I do more of a sophisticated spin on the traditional hippie Southwestern look,” says handbag designer Tiffany Gremillion, who has been working with leather for more than 20 years. “My bags are a little cleaner. I try to do bags that are a little bit richer and have more handiwork. A lot of my clients are from Houston, Dallas, New York, and Los Angeles, and Europeans seem to be drawn to my work.”
“I do more of a sophisticated spin on the traditional hippie Southwestern look.”
As a young girl growing up in Athens, Texas, Gremillion learned how to embroider from her grandmother, and she used to help her father restore antiques. “We’d get these really old chandeliers from Europe, and we’d take them apart and restring the beads. It gave me an appreciation for the handwork.”
By her 20s, she had taken to leatherwork. “I loved the tactile aspect of it,” she says, “and the way I do braiding, I punch right through it. There’s a lot more you can do with leather than with fabrics.”
Gremillion’s resulting handbag collection is contemporary, but not flashy, with an air of modern elegance.
A few of our current in-stock favorites:
PHOTOGRAPHY: courtesy Tiffany Gremillion/T. Gremillion