A day at SABEL Saddlery & Leather Design pop-up shop

By Mia Sabel

What a wonderful day! Day one of my pop-up shop at Penny Fielding Beautiful Interiors in the Village and I was delighted to see so many people passing through (over 200? Hard to tell as I lost count after people were flooding in). The weather was very kind as I was on the terrace, and the other pop-up shops made for a lovely atmosphere.

I had a 75 year old visitor from Wood Street who noticed that I was a Saddler/Leather Designer and he was delighted to meet me and have a chat as he has been a leather Worker all of his life. I loved hearing some of his stories and found out a little bit more about the leather industry in Walthamstow. After a lovely chat and sharing stories about tools, he came back about two hours later, extremely excited, with a bag full of goodies for me. No money desired, he just wanted them to go to a good home. Included in the goodie bag was a Leathercraft book I've been searching for for years. I think we'll be exchanging stories again as he wants to visit my workshop soon.

Many people admired the new range of leather typographic keyrings at £10, especially made for the Art Trail. "AWESOMESTOW", "E17", "THE VILLAGE E17" and "I (heart) E17" were perfect for E17 enthusiasts, and perfect as housewarming gifts. Personalised keyrings and luggage tags can be made on the day.

The pop-up shop continues on Sunday 4 September 10.30-6pm and Saturday 10 September 10.30-6pm at Penny's, and then will be at the E17 Designers' Market on Sunday 11 September 2-6pm. Hope to see you there!