RedOker - Timeless leather bags from South Africa

'If eyes are the window to the soul, then handbags are the reflection of personality!'

I have a penchant for leather handbags so when I stumbled upon RedOker, I knew I had to share their elegant handmade leather bags. I did a very small write up about them in my earlier post and received a gracious note of thanks from Lucas. 

There have been many times in the past that I have written, read and appreciated young entrepreneurs who are working to provide a livelihood to artisans and help sustain dying arts. But I am absolutely amazed by the story of RedOker, a young South African company that has made it their mission to help create artisans out of ordinary individuals. I feel privileged to share the story of Redoker and hope it goes on to become the next Louis Vuitton!

RedOker was envisioned by the enthusiastic trio; Casper, Maretha and Lucas, to help empower the underprivileged in South Africa with tangible skills. Born in February 2012, the journey for RedOker started out from a small bachelor pad in Johannesburg. Casper, Maretha and Lucas spent countless nights brainstorming designs, creating prototypes and marketing RedOker. The founders engaged previously disadvantaged people, provided them with training in leather production and empowered them with a skill to produce quality handcrafted leather bags. RedOker recently moved into its present workshop owned by a Local NGO 'Heart'.

Yes, all products at Redoker are made by hand! It is commendable that Redoker does not compromise with the quality of the product, every stitch is done with perfection and if not, they start all over again. 
Casper says that every handcrafted product has a unique personality of its own, and I absolutely agree with him. This makes their products special and oozing with passion. RedOker strives to put the soul back into manufacturing by making one individual craftsman responsible for the entire production process for each product. Upon completion, every product is fitted with a tag that carries the name of the craftsman, the date of completion and an unique serial number. This helps form a connection between the creator and the creation. Since their main initiative is to develop employment opportunities, handcrafted production also acts as a great way to capitalize on the much needed labour hours.

The trio strive to tirelessly build the brand - RedOker. Without any formal training in leather design and production, they work out challenges, experiment with leather and  figure out solutions to problems as they go along. 

Here is how you can encourage them:
Visit the RedOker website and 'Like' their Facebook page, help spread the word!

All photos belong to RedOker