Following on from Want Les Essentiels, here’s another sibling duo focused on accessories – albeit in a very different manner. Billy Kirk was founded in 1999 by brothers Chris and Kirk Bray, who were inspired a vintage watch strap found at a thrift store trip.

“I got a lot of compliments and inquiries while wearing it at a coffee shop I worked at. That’s when the light bulb went on. I remember the day I went to my brother’s office and I said, ‘Let’s make these.’ He picked up the yellow pages and within a day or so we were buying leather and learning the trade.”

“The majority of our products have been made by a group of Amish leather workers in Pennsylvania,” explains Chris Bray. As the focus is primarily on leather goods, the quality of the leather is imperative, “We have been using the same tannery since 1999, using grade-A harness weight leathers that work perfectly for what we are doing. Our goal is to produce items that wear in well, take on a nice patina and last.”

With the recession looming over everyone’s head you’d assume that certain customer wouldn’t wish to pay more for Billy Kirk’s goods, but Bray asserts that this isn’t the case. “Perhaps the stores might get some price reaction from customers but not us,” He says. “When we have had direct contact with a customer and that customer is able to see and feel the quality of materials and understands that the item is hand-made in the USA then they generally think our prices are quite fair.”

“Further, I think there are more and more customers who are fed up with all the cheaply made, mass produced goods in the market place. Many of these items, in my opinion, have caused a lot of people to rethink the way they shop.”

Chris goes on to say that “this throw away mentality is not only bad for the environment but gives you no sense of pride in what you own. I want to get back to that pride in ownership mentality when we actually took care of our items and treated them with respect.”