Q&A: Katherine Pogson

Katherine Pogson is a designer and maker focused on the sculptural and textural qualities of leather. Born in Stockholm and raised between London and Devon, Katherine now creates her beautifully hand-worked leather products from her studio in North London. Using a wide variety of surface manipulation techniques - including molding, laquerwork, and hand-stitching - Katherine brings out the best in her high-quality materials.

We spoke to Katherine ahead of her Leather Molding Workshop, which formed part of our program for the London Design Festival September 2014.

I am designer who specializes in manipulating leather. I am fascinated with leather's material, surface and form.

Russet or vegetable-tanned leather is my favorite for its moldable properties. I use a lot of hand-worked techniques including gilding, embossing and hand-stitching to make sculptural forms with interesting surfaces.

I remember making a bean bag frog at junior school. Mine was the best because I had found a lovely tweedy marbled felt that no one else had!

I am interested in the whole movement of thinking-through-making, slow craft, and the idea of objects as carriers of cultural value rather than commodities. The recent revival of interest in 'craft' gives people like me an opportunity to express our values and alternative ways of thinking more readily.

I will be running a practical workshop introducing our leather molded tray kit, which is currently in development for a SMP CoLab coming this Autumn. It will be a great opportunity to get hands-on with a fascinating material and use versatile techniques that are not widely exploited.