Profile: Felicite Furaha – Real Leather Design Competitions

Felicite Furaha

University of Nairobi

I'm a person of many talents, passionate about design and crafts, innovation, entrepreneurship... Designer by profession. I define myself as an eco cautious person(designer) therefore, for the project I'll be working on will be focused on sustainable practices and has been inspired by Elvis and Kresse who are a design examplar of what sustainability really means. While Elvis and Kresse are making accessories out of fire-hoses, I'll take them as and example and use the materials that are already in the market. For this competition that has a specific material to use (cow leather) i will not have specific color palette for my product and use whichever colors of cow leather i find in the market and make a patchwork bag and a collection later on. When it comes to leather, sustainability can be achieved in different ways, it could be by reusing leather that has been used before, recycling scraps or offcuts, using leather that is found on the market or leftovers in leather tannaries.

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Victoria bag

Category: Accessories

Competitions: Africa

The above sketch idea is part of my school project. The paper is all about leather sustainability. The bag is made using leather scraps. As a person who believes that the future is sustainable, my vision is to use leather (offcuts, scraps,...) to make unique pieces that elevate the scraps. When i read about what Elvis and Kresse are doing with fire-hoses, I got inspired. These people are only using fire-hoses that no longer serve the original purposes,this means they are reusing the materials, in my case i would like to apply the same ideas but this time not by reusing but by using leather that's available in the market, meaning i will be creating design but execute them based on the colors that are available in the market. In brief, unlike most leather accessories brands in kenya ,i will not be going to tannaries to place commands on the type, the colors and the quality of leather i want but i will be collecting what people (brands) leave behind and use them and this is how i believe i can be among people who are working with waste reduction in mind. Thank you for giving me the chance. #it can not get more sustainable than this for now.