Discover how Stanley Major, founder of Sea Leather Wear, is revolutionizing sustainable fashion by transforming discarded fish skins into luxurious leather alternatives. In this episode of the Handbag Designer 101 Podcast, Stanley shares his journey of upcycling carp, Nile perch, salmon, and sea bass skins into eco-friendly materials that are captivating designers and eco-conscious consumers alike. With insights from handbag design expert Emily Blumenthal, this episode highlights fish skin leather’s potential as a stylish, sustainable substitute for exotic leathers like crocodile and alligator. Learn how this innovative material, with its unique textures and minimal environmental impact, is redefining ethical luxury for the fashion industry and empowering emerging designers to make a positive impact.
Key Takeaways
- Sustainable Innovation: Fish skin leather is an eco-friendly alternative to exotic leathers, turning waste into high-value materials.
- Distinct Aesthetic: Unique textures and patterns make fish skin leather perfect for creating one-of-a-kind, ethical fashion pieces.
- Ethical Luxury: Minimal waste and sustainable practices appeal to eco-conscious consumers and forward-thinking designers.
Our Guest, Stanley Major is the founder of Sea Leather Wear, a pioneer in sustainable fashion. His innovative work transforms fish skins from canneries into chic, eco-friendly leather alternatives, offering a unique solution to the growing demand for ethical luxury materials.
Host Emily Blumenthal is a handbag industry expert, author of Handbag Designer 101, and founder of The Handbag Awards. Known as the “Handbag Fairy Godmother,” Emily also teaches entrepreneurship at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is dedicated to celebrating creativity, craftsmanship, and the art of building iconic handbag brands.
Find Handbag Designer 101 Merch, HBD101 Masterclass, one-on-one sessions, and opportunities to book Emily Blumenthal as a speaker at emilyblumenthal.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, I mean the catteries that would make fish
that you and I eat have to dosomething with the skin.
So we want to understand,because I came into this
business at a later point intime it had started actually in
the 1980s and he'd been doingthis since that time.
So, yeah, it was just, you know, a repurposing of fish skin
that was going to be thrown out.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hi and welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the
podcast, with your host, emilyBlumenthal, handbag industry
expert and the handbag fairygodmother.
Each week, we uncover thestories behind the handbags we
love, from the iconic brands andtop designers to the creativity
, craftsmanship and culture thatdefine the handbag world.
Whether you're a designer,collector or simply passionate
(00:44):
about handbags, this is yourfront row seat to it all.
Welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the podcast.
I am with Stanley Major of SeaLeather Wear.
Stanley, I know this is yourfirst time on a podcast, so I'm
(01:06):
here to make this easy andcomfortable, just like going to
the orthodontist and gettingbraces.
So welcome, welcome.
So we found each other onLinkedIn and, as always, I say,
linkedin is a great place tohang out.
What I found so interesting wasabout what your product is made
of, because, having been inhandbags for what feels like
(01:29):
800,000 years, I got to admitI'm totally unfamiliar with what
it is and I've heard about it,but I just don't get it.
So what exactly is SeaLeatherware?
What is it made of?
Where are you right now?
What state?
Speaker 1 (01:42):
This is Calgary Alberta.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Okay, so a province.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So my company started 20 yearsago.
It's had the same name since.
The website was kind of had amajor do-over about three years
ago or so and I started anassociation.
I had a company called MermaidLeather, so his business
involved tanning fish intoleather.
(02:07):
He had tried it on quite anumber of species but
concentrated on a few of them,like carp being one.
So the tannery was in Ontario.
At that time the tannery hadclosed but he was my mentor
getting into this business andat that time he didn't have a
web presence.
This was around 2004, 2005.
So because I had someexperience in this, I made a
(02:31):
website.
But he was really the personwho financed the cost involved
in doing the research intoremoving the scales and the odor
from fish.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Can I ask you something Just dropping right in
?
So I mean, look, you're inCanada.
People have been resourceful.
For hundreds, if not thousandsof years.
People have used fish skins.
I mean, that's how people cameup with the idea of
leather-sweetened skins, right?
Was there some sort of NativeAmerican connection, Like who
(03:04):
came up with the idea?
Was it somebody who knewsomeone who knew someone who
said, hey, we can use fish forleather?
Like, what's the origin storyfor that?
I mean, this is why I wanted totalk to you, because I think
perhaps it's underrated undervalue, but people just in my
people, I don't think know thatit's even an option.
So how did this all come about?
Speaker 1 (03:25):
I think, from what I know, his sister had been
involved in the fashion businessin New York and he had been
approached by some interestedparties in doing that, in
creating a project for this, andmaybe not the first time around
, but he did eventually go withthe idea.
So the tanner he was picked inOntario.
I think it took about atwo-year period to perfect the
(03:47):
making of the leather.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
And what fish is it specifically?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Well, mainly carp.
So on my website there's mainlyfour types.
There's carp I call it perch,but it's Nile perch salmon and
sea bass.
So these were commerciallycaught fish.
They weren't farmed especiallyfor the purpose of creating
leather out of them, but theywere commercially caught.
So it's mainly carp.
Actually, most of my stock atthis time is that.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
So who is catching the fish?
Were you dealing with fishermenwho were catching the carp?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Well, with the canneries, the canneries that
were making fish for the foodchain and carting the skins.
So the skins were purchased andbrought to the tannery for that
purpose.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So was this one of those things that it was like,
hey guys, you got some fishskins we can experiment with.
And they said, sure, you gotsome fish skins we can
experiment with.
And they said, sure, Is thatkind of how it went Like.
Or was it hey, what fish wouldbe the lowest cost, highest
volume fish that we couldexperiment with?
Or was this like someone from adepartment in Canada was trying
to maximize on using wastagefor good?
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Not really.
In fact, the carp originatedfrom the United States, from
Spirit Lake, iowa.
Each of them had their ownplace of origin.
The perch were from LakeVictoria, africa, the salmon
were Pacific salmon and sea basswere Atlantic sea bass.
So each in its own way werecaught and so it was part of the
(05:22):
consumption chain.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
So they just had these skins and they were just
disposing of them.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
What were they doing with them?
Speaker 1 (05:31):
With the skins.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Well, I mean the catteries that would make fish
that you and I eat have to dosomething with the skin.
So we want to understand,because I came into this
business at a later point intime it had started actually in
the 1980s and he'd been doingthis since that time.
So, yeah, it was just, you know, a repurposing of fish skin
that was going to be thrown out.
(05:55):
You know, interestingly, sinceI started the website back in
the beginning, I was approachedby a lot of tanneries, I guess,
that wanted to sell their fishskins and they contacted me on
that account.
You know the tanneries closedand you know that's how I've
been operating my business.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So that's so interesting.
So all of a sudden word got outthat like hey, there's this guy
in Canada who used to be in theUS.
He's in Canada, he's takingfish skins and turning them into
products.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
So I bet you were bombarded with people like
trying to get their skins offtheir hands.
No, I was more bombarded byleather manufacturers in Sialkot
and Lahore, pakistan, whowanted to manufacture my
products.
So the fact is that I didn'thave a lot of end products.
I was just really selling theskins to designers or
manufacturers that might want touse them.
There were a few products thathad been made which I carried
(06:52):
onto my website, which are stillthere, which are belts, golf
gloves and wash straps.
These were made offshore withthe leather.
I haven't pursued making endproducts, but, you know,
focusing on selling the skins tothe makers.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
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B-A-I-K-A-L Handbagscom I know,or those who don't know anything
that's manufactured, it comesin those big rolls and it's sold
by the yard.
Leather is sold by the squarefoot because it's an animal and
it's a skin, and then there'swastage.
(08:30):
How is a fish skin sold, andwhat's the wastage?
Speaker 1 (08:35):
I have to say that mine is not really sold by area.
They're sold by the skin.
So if you look on the website,I have some skins here to show
you, but not a batch of them.
But on the website you'll see abatch of them with some
attachment tying them together.
That's the way they're sold.
They were grouped in locks of50 or 100 or whatever.
(08:56):
So in terms of wastage, therewas no wastage.
I mean skins that were sort oflesser quality.
I called them factory secondsand I put them on the website at
a discounted price.
I mean, some of it's reallysort of garbagey, I guess, so
they might not have put on.
One of the things that I haveon the website is called crust.
(09:17):
I'll show you a sample of it.
This is called crust, so it'sbeen tanned but it hasn't been
colored, it hasn't been finished.
There's another form of crustwhich hasn't even been stretched
.
They look like this oh God.
Yeah, it looks like a dry rag.
It's like sometimes they comeclamped together and, in order
(09:39):
to stretch them, something likethis had to be used to spread
them on the screen.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
And I'll show you.
This is a sample salmon skin,so you might be able to see the
stretch mark there.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, that's so cool, but it has it.
Is that a stitch in the middle?
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
So what this is is.
This was a poorly tanned skinbecause the scales were still on
it and for the most part, allthe scales had been removed.
I have a sample sea bass skinhere.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So if you look closely, you can see those skin,
but a few scales remained in it.
Oh my God.
What you can actually do is youcan use tweezers or pliers or
something to pluck them out.
I'll see if I can do that here.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
So are people buying them and plucking the scales out
themselves?
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yes, Well, not so much.
Oh my God.
Okay, there we are.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Oh, it makes sushi Crusty sushi.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Yeah, for the most part the scales were taken out,
but if the scales remain in,usually I've discounted the
price of the skin for those thatare interested in that.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Is there usually a seam in the middle because
they're sewn together or they'renot really?
Speaker 1 (10:59):
No, there's usually not a seam.
What I would say is the scalesare sort of symmetrical, so if
you were stitching them togetheryou might be able to align them
so that they it's difficult tonotice where the seam is.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Do you find, though, that you know how alligator croc
, all of those which they callexotics most of them are
outlawed?
Now Do you think and you knowNancy Gonzalez I don't know if
you're familiar with her she wasarrested, the whole thing of
having an illegal exotic farm,and you know there are some
(11:34):
places that will no longer allowit, or, if they allow it, the
prices are so expensive?
Do you think people can usethis kind of fish skin as a
replacement for exotic skin, ifpeople didn't know the
difference, because it carries asimilar pattern?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
My answer yeah, I mean.
Alligators and crocodile havetheir patterns.
Each of the fish type havetheir patterns.
I'll show you what thedifferent patterns are here.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
And for those who are listening, definitely go on to
the YouTube, because our friendStanley is showing us actual
visuals and I got to say forsomeone who didn't know anything
about fish skin before, this islike the coolest thing ever.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
This is what a standard salmon would look like.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Like this.
One doesn't have the scales inthe middle that you saw before,
and salmon have the smallestscale pockets, which is, I think
, what attracts them to manydesigners.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
It's really interesting because obviously a
fish is skinnier than an animalor you know any kind of animal.
It looks like it would be goodfor a smaller, like a clutch
kind of bag, without people evenknowing what it is, because the
pattern is definitely unique.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Yeah, I'll show you a couple of handmade items that
were made with a letter.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
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Speaker 1 (14:32):
So this is a handbag.
The color of the leather thereis called Mermaid Green.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Now depending If I didn't know any better.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I would think it was Krakow.
I really would.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Depending on the designer's tastes and interests,
they might choose the designlike this.
So, or you know, it's up to thedesigner, but it's actually the
same color, the same color ofcarb lead.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
So would you say that this material lends itself more
for trimming or patchwork likethat than actually making a
whole bag out of it, because Ithink, because it's so cool
looking, especially with whatyou showed me with those bright
colors, that I think it's areally nice addition to give it
a little zhuzh.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
It could be.
This is a small wallet type ofcreation.
I'm actually out of stock ofthis particular color, which is
called seafoam, seafoam.
Yeah, seafoam, but you can seewhere the stitching was done,
right.
So for a small item like that,it can be the whole outside of
(15:42):
it.
But yeah, it's used for trim.
There's a wallet that used thisfor trim.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Okay.
So for anybody who's listening,just so, they have a visual
which is kind of like watchingTop Chef and not being able to
eat the food.
So Stanley is showing mewallets and a beautiful bag with
a really cool trim, and I justthink this is such a huge
opportunity for people to dothings that are really
unexpected.
Now can I ask you not again,not being an expert in this
(16:13):
field people who are vegan don'teat fish.
Would people utilize thismaterial and how would they
categorize it?
Is it leather?
It's obviously not PU orchemically made.
Would they call this vegan?
What would it fall under?
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Would they call it vegan?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
It can't be right, Because it's fish.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Yeah, I think it's fish, fish.
I mean, the way I look at it isit has the scale patterns that
the the more exotic you knowspecies have.
If you're not concerned aboutwhat species have, but you like
the pattern, you know it's therein the fish, I think I I showed
you a couple of purses thatwere made with a carp.
So there are some standardskins and there's some large
(17:00):
skins.
This is a larger skin.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Okay, and then?
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Stanley's showing me a skin that I got to say it
almost looks like crocodile.
If I didn't know any better.
It's so cool.
What fish is that that's?
Speaker 1 (17:14):
huge.
This is carp and that color iscalled goldfish.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
So can I ask you?
So this is actually skin thatwould have been was disposed of
anyway.
So you're basically making thisalmost more of a.
I would even say this is like asustainable skin, because
you're taking something thatwould have been disposed of and
reusing it and repurposing,wouldn't you?
Speaker 1 (17:37):
That's the idea, yeah and yeah.
So you don't find this in theanimal world, it's only fish.
But if you wanted to see theother patterns, another type
that I have is perch.
It's actually Nile perch and ithas, I guess, what I call an
intermediate scale pattern.
It's a bit bigger than thesalmon, but smaller than the
carp.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
It looks like a treated leather.
Hey, can I ask you, is itpretty thin, like you would have
to, because you know, withleather it's so thick like they
need to skive it, which meansremoving the interior layer.
What is the inside because?
And how does that work?
Speaker 1 (18:12):
is it strong enough that if you sew uh, the skiving
had been done on the back, so sothese are pretty much ready to
use for your purpose.
This one is called sea bass andI guess it tends to maybe have
more leftover on the back thanthe other types, but for the
(18:32):
most part, for the salmon,there's not a lot on the back
that's leftover, so they'reready for use.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
So let me ask you so you've built this website, how
did people find you and say,like how'd you get the word out
saying, by the way, you can usefish skins instead of animal
leather?
Like how do people becauseagain I'm so unfamiliar with it
Like I haven't seen this at myleather people or anything?
Speaker 1 (18:57):
So I started this about 20 years ago.
At that time e-commerce wasn'tsuch a big thing, but it's a
different horizon today than itwas then.
Then you could search.
So I tried to make sure that Iwas well-positioned.
If somebody was looking forfish leather and I kind of tried
to include it in the categoriesof exotic leather suede leather
(19:19):
.
I've tried to include it in thecategories of exotic leather
suede leather.
So I kind of tried to make itknown that way.
And you know, word got aroundand I don't know.
I don't want to tell you.
Word got around and I'm stillgoing today.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
That's amazing.
So is it typically biggerbrands finding you or do you
find a lot of like?
Emerging independent designersare like, hey, can I buy a few
skins?
And like do people place pre Goahead?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
I don't sort of have a list, an A list of celebrities
that I've bought.
I can tell you that a couple ofthe more interesting purchases
that I had way back was when theUnited States was in
Afghanistan.
I had a purchase from BagramAir Base, so somebody thought
this was cool enough to order it.
I also had a purchase from aSaudi Arabian princess.
(20:08):
I'm not mentioning names.
That's okay, but when customersI've often asked customers if
they don't mind my includingtheir pictures of their work on
my website I give them theattribution.
It spilled over into GooglePhotos from my website but, like
many more, don't care to sendpictures or, you know, it can't
(20:31):
be bothered, but that's fine.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Right, right, right.
Wow.
This is the coolest thing ever.
Stanley.
How can people find you follow?
You place an order.
How do we do that?
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Well, I've never been part of the Facebook world, but
I was on LinkedIn early in itsearly days.
World where I work, I was onLinkedIn early in its early days
, so I'm active on LinkedIn.
That's how we got in touch.
Yeah, so most of the socialplatforms I don't have a
presence on, but on LinkedIn Ihave a presence.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
What is your website?
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Yeah, the website is sealeatherwearcom.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
S-E-A-L-E-A-T-H-E-R sealeathercom right.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Sealeather, where W-E-A-R.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
W-E-A-R.
Sealeatherwherecom.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
So I ship from Calgary.
Shipping is free with a minimum$100 purchase in North America.
I sort of try to give an equalcredit when shipping abroad.
I can't always guarantee freeshipping because of the nature
of the cost of that, but I givesome sort of credit.
Canada is just coming out of astrike by Canada Post which has
(21:39):
occurred over the last month andI'd say the postal service is
still resuming and Canada Posthas been the main way that I
ship my product.
So there's some incentiveoffered at this time, also sort
of a skins bonus on account ofthe shipping delay.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
I have promotions from time to time.
Pretty regularly, there's awhat's New page on the website
and you can enter your email ifyou'd like to be notified of
this, and that's how I'mreachable.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
That's awesome, stanley Major, thank you so much
of sealeatherwearcom.
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Well, thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Thanks for listening.
Don't forget to rate and review, and follow us on every single
platform at Handbag Designer.
Thanks so much.
See you next time.
Well, I mean the catteries that would make fish
that you and I eat have to dosomething with the skin.
So we want to understand,because I came into this
business at a later point intime it had started actually in
the 1980s and he'd been doingthis since that time.
So, yeah, it was just, you know, a repurposing of fish skin
that was going to be thrown out.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hi and welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the
podcast, with your host, emilyBlumenthal, handbag industry
expert and the handbag fairygodmother.
Each week, we uncover thestories behind the handbags we
love, from the iconic brands andtop designers to the creativity
, craftsmanship and culture thatdefine the handbag world.
Whether you're a designer,collector or simply passionate
(00:44):
about handbags, this is yourfront row seat to it all.
Welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the podcast.
I am with Stanley Major of SeaLeather Wear.
Stanley, I know this is yourfirst time on a podcast, so I'm
(01:06):
here to make this easy andcomfortable, just like going to
the orthodontist and gettingbraces.
So welcome, welcome.
So we found each other onLinkedIn and, as always, I say,
linkedin is a great place tohang out.
What I found so interesting wasabout what your product is made
of, because, having been inhandbags for what feels like
(01:29):
800,000 years, I got to admitI'm totally unfamiliar with what
it is and I've heard about it,but I just don't get it.
So what exactly is SeaLeatherware?
What is it made of?
Where are you right now?
What state?
Speaker 1 (01:42):
This is Calgary Alberta.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Okay, so a province.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So my company started 20 yearsago.
It's had the same name since.
The website was kind of had amajor do-over about three years
ago or so and I started anassociation.
I had a company called MermaidLeather, so his business
involved tanning fish intoleather.
(02:07):
He had tried it on quite anumber of species but
concentrated on a few of them,like carp being one.
So the tannery was in Ontario.
At that time the tannery hadclosed but he was my mentor
getting into this business andat that time he didn't have a
web presence.
This was around 2004, 2005.
So because I had someexperience in this, I made a
(02:31):
website.
But he was really the personwho financed the cost involved
in doing the research intoremoving the scales and the odor
from fish.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Can I ask you something Just dropping right in
?
So I mean, look, you're inCanada.
People have been resourceful.
For hundreds, if not thousandsof years.
People have used fish skins.
I mean, that's how people cameup with the idea of
leather-sweetened skins, right?
Was there some sort of NativeAmerican connection, Like who
(03:04):
came up with the idea?
Was it somebody who knewsomeone who knew someone who
said, hey, we can use fish forleather?
Like, what's the origin storyfor that?
I mean, this is why I wanted totalk to you, because I think
perhaps it's underrated undervalue, but people just in my
people, I don't think know thatit's even an option.
So how did this all come about?
Speaker 1 (03:25):
I think, from what I know, his sister had been
involved in the fashion businessin New York and he had been
approached by some interestedparties in doing that, in
creating a project for this, andmaybe not the first time around
, but he did eventually go withthe idea.
So the tanner he was picked inOntario.
I think it took about atwo-year period to perfect the
(03:47):
making of the leather.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
And what fish is it specifically?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Well, mainly carp.
So on my website there's mainlyfour types.
There's carp I call it perch,but it's Nile perch salmon and
sea bass.
So these were commerciallycaught fish.
They weren't farmed especiallyfor the purpose of creating
leather out of them, but theywere commercially caught.
So it's mainly carp.
Actually, most of my stock atthis time is that.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
So who is catching the fish?
Were you dealing with fishermenwho were catching the carp?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Well, with the canneries, the canneries that
were making fish for the foodchain and carting the skins.
So the skins were purchased andbrought to the tannery for that
purpose.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So was this one of those things that it was like,
hey guys, you got some fishskins we can experiment with.
And they said, sure, you gotsome fish skins we can
experiment with.
And they said, sure, Is thatkind of how it went Like.
Or was it hey, what fish wouldbe the lowest cost, highest
volume fish that we couldexperiment with?
Or was this like someone from adepartment in Canada was trying
to maximize on using wastagefor good?
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Not really.
In fact, the carp originatedfrom the United States, from
Spirit Lake, iowa.
Each of them had their ownplace of origin.
The perch were from LakeVictoria, africa, the salmon
were Pacific salmon and sea basswere Atlantic sea bass.
So each in its own way werecaught and so it was part of the
(05:22):
consumption chain.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
So they just had these skins and they were just
disposing of them.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
What were they doing with them?
Speaker 1 (05:31):
With the skins.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Well, I mean the catteries that would make fish
that you and I eat have to dosomething with the skin.
So we want to understand,because I came into this
business at a later point intime it had started actually in
the 1980s and he'd been doingthis since that time.
So, yeah, it was just, you know, a repurposing of fish skin
that was going to be thrown out.
(05:55):
You know, interestingly, sinceI started the website back in
the beginning, I was approachedby a lot of tanneries, I guess,
that wanted to sell their fishskins and they contacted me on
that account.
You know the tanneries closedand you know that's how I've
been operating my business.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So that's so interesting.
So all of a sudden word got outthat like hey, there's this guy
in Canada who used to be in theUS.
He's in Canada, he's takingfish skins and turning them into
products.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
So I bet you were bombarded with people like
trying to get their skins offtheir hands.
No, I was more bombarded byleather manufacturers in Sialkot
and Lahore, pakistan, whowanted to manufacture my
products.
So the fact is that I didn'thave a lot of end products.
I was just really selling theskins to designers or
manufacturers that might want touse them.
There were a few products thathad been made which I carried
(06:52):
onto my website, which are stillthere, which are belts, golf
gloves and wash straps.
These were made offshore withthe leather.
I haven't pursued making endproducts, but, you know,
focusing on selling the skins tothe makers.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
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B-A-I-K-A-L Handbagscom I know,or those who don't know anything
that's manufactured, it comesin those big rolls and it's sold
by the yard.
Leather is sold by the squarefoot because it's an animal and
it's a skin, and then there'swastage.
(08:30):
How is a fish skin sold, andwhat's the wastage?
Speaker 1 (08:35):
I have to say that mine is not really sold by area.
They're sold by the skin.
So if you look on the website,I have some skins here to show
you, but not a batch of them.
But on the website you'll see abatch of them with some
attachment tying them together.
That's the way they're sold.
They were grouped in locks of50 or 100 or whatever.
(08:56):
So in terms of wastage, therewas no wastage.
I mean skins that were sort oflesser quality.
I called them factory secondsand I put them on the website at
a discounted price.
I mean, some of it's reallysort of garbagey, I guess, so
they might not have put on.
One of the things that I haveon the website is called crust.
(09:17):
I'll show you a sample of it.
This is called crust, so it'sbeen tanned but it hasn't been
colored, it hasn't been finished.
There's another form of crustwhich hasn't even been stretched
.
They look like this oh God.
Yeah, it looks like a dry rag.
It's like sometimes they comeclamped together and, in order
(09:39):
to stretch them, something likethis had to be used to spread
them on the screen.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
And I'll show you.
This is a sample salmon skin,so you might be able to see the
stretch mark there.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, that's so cool, but it has it.
Is that a stitch in the middle?
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
So what this is is.
This was a poorly tanned skinbecause the scales were still on
it and for the most part, allthe scales had been removed.
I have a sample sea bass skinhere.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So if you look closely, you can see those skin,
but a few scales remained in it.
Oh my God.
What you can actually do is youcan use tweezers or pliers or
something to pluck them out.
I'll see if I can do that here.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
So are people buying them and plucking the scales out
themselves?
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yes, Well, not so much.
Oh my God.
Okay, there we are.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Oh, it makes sushi Crusty sushi.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Yeah, for the most part the scales were taken out,
but if the scales remain in,usually I've discounted the
price of the skin for those thatare interested in that.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Is there usually a seam in the middle because
they're sewn together or they'renot really?
Speaker 1 (10:59):
No, there's usually not a seam.
What I would say is the scalesare sort of symmetrical, so if
you were stitching them togetheryou might be able to align them
so that they it's difficult tonotice where the seam is.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Do you find, though, that you know how alligator croc
, all of those which they callexotics most of them are
outlawed?
Now Do you think and you knowNancy Gonzalez I don't know if
you're familiar with her she wasarrested, the whole thing of
having an illegal exotic farm,and you know there are some
(11:34):
places that will no longer allowit, or, if they allow it, the
prices are so expensive?
Do you think people can usethis kind of fish skin as a
replacement for exotic skin, ifpeople didn't know the
difference, because it carries asimilar pattern?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
My answer yeah, I mean.
Alligators and crocodile havetheir patterns.
Each of the fish type havetheir patterns.
I'll show you what thedifferent patterns are here.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
And for those who are listening, definitely go on to
the YouTube, because our friendStanley is showing us actual
visuals and I got to say forsomeone who didn't know anything
about fish skin before, this islike the coolest thing ever.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
This is what a standard salmon would look like.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Like this.
One doesn't have the scales inthe middle that you saw before,
and salmon have the smallestscale pockets, which is, I think
, what attracts them to manydesigners.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
It's really interesting because obviously a
fish is skinnier than an animalor you know any kind of animal.
It looks like it would be goodfor a smaller, like a clutch
kind of bag, without people evenknowing what it is, because the
pattern is definitely unique.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Yeah, I'll show you a couple of handmade items that
were made with a letter.
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Speaker 1 (14:32):
So this is a handbag.
The color of the leather thereis called Mermaid Green.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Now depending If I didn't know any better.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I would think it was Krakow.
I really would.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Depending on the designer's tastes and interests,
they might choose the designlike this.
So, or you know, it's up to thedesigner, but it's actually the
same color, the same color ofcarb lead.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
So would you say that this material lends itself more
for trimming or patchwork likethat than actually making a
whole bag out of it, because Ithink, because it's so cool
looking, especially with whatyou showed me with those bright
colors, that I think it's areally nice addition to give it
a little zhuzh.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
It could be.
This is a small wallet type ofcreation.
I'm actually out of stock ofthis particular color, which is
called seafoam, seafoam.
Yeah, seafoam, but you can seewhere the stitching was done,
right.
So for a small item like that,it can be the whole outside of
(15:42):
it.
But yeah, it's used for trim.
There's a wallet that used thisfor trim.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Okay.
So for anybody who's listening,just so, they have a visual
which is kind of like watchingTop Chef and not being able to
eat the food.
So Stanley is showing mewallets and a beautiful bag with
a really cool trim, and I justthink this is such a huge
opportunity for people to dothings that are really
unexpected.
Now can I ask you not again,not being an expert in this
(16:13):
field people who are vegan don'teat fish.
Would people utilize thismaterial and how would they
categorize it?
Is it leather?
It's obviously not PU orchemically made.
Would they call this vegan?
What would it fall under?
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Would they call it vegan?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
It can't be right, Because it's fish.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Yeah, I think it's fish, fish.
I mean, the way I look at it isit has the scale patterns that
the the more exotic you knowspecies have.
If you're not concerned aboutwhat species have, but you like
the pattern, you know it's therein the fish, I think I I showed
you a couple of purses thatwere made with a carp.
So there are some standardskins and there's some large
(17:00):
skins.
This is a larger skin.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Okay, and then?
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Stanley's showing me a skin that I got to say it
almost looks like crocodile.
If I didn't know any better.
It's so cool.
What fish is that that's?
Speaker 1 (17:14):
huge.
This is carp and that color iscalled goldfish.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
So can I ask you?
So this is actually skin thatwould have been was disposed of
anyway.
So you're basically making thisalmost more of a.
I would even say this is like asustainable skin, because
you're taking something thatwould have been disposed of and
reusing it and repurposing,wouldn't you?
Speaker 1 (17:37):
That's the idea, yeah and yeah.
So you don't find this in theanimal world, it's only fish.
But if you wanted to see theother patterns, another type
that I have is perch.
It's actually Nile perch and ithas, I guess, what I call an
intermediate scale pattern.
It's a bit bigger than thesalmon, but smaller than the
carp.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
It looks like a treated leather.
Hey, can I ask you, is itpretty thin, like you would have
to, because you know, withleather it's so thick like they
need to skive it, which meansremoving the interior layer.
What is the inside because?
And how does that work?
Speaker 1 (18:12):
is it strong enough that if you sew uh, the skiving
had been done on the back, so sothese are pretty much ready to
use for your purpose.
This one is called sea bass andI guess it tends to maybe have
more leftover on the back thanthe other types, but for the
(18:32):
most part, for the salmon,there's not a lot on the back
that's leftover, so they'reready for use.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
So let me ask you so you've built this website, how
did people find you and say,like how'd you get the word out
saying, by the way, you can usefish skins instead of animal
leather?
Like how do people becauseagain I'm so unfamiliar with it
Like I haven't seen this at myleather people or anything?
Speaker 1 (18:57):
So I started this about 20 years ago.
At that time e-commerce wasn'tsuch a big thing, but it's a
different horizon today than itwas then.
Then you could search.
So I tried to make sure that Iwas well-positioned.
If somebody was looking forfish leather and I kind of tried
to include it in the categoriesof exotic leather suede leather
(19:19):
.
I've tried to include it in thecategories of exotic leather
suede leather.
So I kind of tried to make itknown that way.
And you know, word got aroundand I don't know.
I don't want to tell you.
Word got around and I'm stillgoing today.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
That's amazing.
So is it typically biggerbrands finding you or do you
find a lot of like?
Emerging independent designersare like, hey, can I buy a few
skins?
And like do people place pre Goahead?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
I don't sort of have a list, an A list of celebrities
that I've bought.
I can tell you that a couple ofthe more interesting purchases
that I had way back was when theUnited States was in
Afghanistan.
I had a purchase from BagramAir Base, so somebody thought
this was cool enough to order it.
I also had a purchase from aSaudi Arabian princess.
(20:08):
I'm not mentioning names.
That's okay, but when customersI've often asked customers if
they don't mind my includingtheir pictures of their work on
my website I give them theattribution.
It spilled over into GooglePhotos from my website but, like
many more, don't care to sendpictures or, you know, it can't
(20:31):
be bothered, but that's fine.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Right, right, right.
Wow.
This is the coolest thing ever.
Stanley.
How can people find you follow?
You place an order.
How do we do that?
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Well, I've never been part of the Facebook world, but
I was on LinkedIn early in itsearly days.
World where I work, I was onLinkedIn early in its early days
, so I'm active on LinkedIn.
That's how we got in touch.
Yeah, so most of the socialplatforms I don't have a
presence on, but on LinkedIn Ihave a presence.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
What is your website?
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Yeah, the website is sealeatherwearcom.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
S-E-A-L-E-A-T-H-E-R sealeathercom right.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Sealeather, where W-E-A-R.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
W-E-A-R.
Sealeatherwherecom.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
So I ship from Calgary.
Shipping is free with a minimum$100 purchase in North America.
I sort of try to give an equalcredit when shipping abroad.
I can't always guarantee freeshipping because of the nature
of the cost of that, but I givesome sort of credit.
Canada is just coming out of astrike by Canada Post which has
(21:39):
occurred over the last month andI'd say the postal service is
still resuming and Canada Posthas been the main way that I
ship my product.
So there's some incentiveoffered at this time, also sort
of a skins bonus on account ofthe shipping delay.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
I have promotions from time to time.
Pretty regularly, there's awhat's New page on the website
and you can enter your email ifyou'd like to be notified of
this, and that's how I'mreachable.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
That's awesome, stanley Major, thank you so much
of sealeatherwearcom.
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Well, thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Thanks for listening.
Don't forget to rate and review, and follow us on every single
platform at Handbag Designer.
Thanks so much.
See you next time.
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