All our leather accessories are handcrafted by an incredibly talented team of leather workers in Ukraine. They are all hard at work handcrafting Needle Binders, despite the ongoing chaos that surrounds them each day. We thought we’d show you all a behind-the-scenes of their process and shed some light on the challenges they're facing.

These lovely talented folks have faced so much hardship this past year. When the war broke out, they repurposed their leather studio into a Molotov cocktail production factory. They teamed up with other local small businesses to provide aid and refuge to people fleeing conflict from the Eastern parts of the country.

As news of the war have been substantially muted for us in the West, their reality is still very far from 'back to normal'.

There are daily power outages across the country lasting anywhere between 2 and 10 hours. They have been forced to huddle in one small room, powered by a generator and heated by a small wood-burning stove. They play music and chat, as missile strike alarms continue to sound over the city. The police, along with army officials came into the office today and took all the male workers. They are no longer leather artisans, but soldiers. Needless to say their world has been turned upside down. It's unimaginable.

With the airspace closed to commercial carriers for shipping, leather shortages and several of our zips/snaps/buckles providers having either gone out of business or having had their businesses physically destroyed, we've faced our share of setbacks in 2022.

One thing is certain - we are very grateful for your continued support. When you purchase a Needle Binder, or any of our leather accessories, you are enabling a lot of hardworking folks to be able to support their families during a very difficult time, when their options are extremely limited.

Deepest thanks for all your shares, comments, purchases, referrals, reviews and kind e-mails. We are forever grateful and hope for peace in 2023 ♥️

- Sam & Olga