When former graphic designers Darren Hsieh (謝政倫) and Phoebe Chang (張雯惠) decided they needed a change of pace three years ago, they quickly and decisively cobbled together a new career plan. Just two months after teaching themselves basic leatherworking techniques, the couple opened a studio in Taipei’s East District (東區), where they have crafted and sold handmade purses and accessories since 2006.
“Our designs are very freestyle because we are self-taught. The things we make don’t look the same as if we had used traditional leatherworking methods and that is what makes our work special,” says Hsieh.
In their former jobs, the two worked mainly on advertisements, but they decided to embark on a new career path that would give them more independence and a chance to let their own aesthetic take center stage.
They were attracted to leather because it is a dynamic material that becomes more beautiful with use, Hsieh said, as he hand-stitched a black messenger bag at their workstation while Chang deftly hammered grommets through a leather strap. Both taught themselves leatherworking basics from books and Web sites, refining the rest of their technique through experimentation.
“We don’t want to over-design our items because each piece of leather is special. Sometimes it’s hard to find a balance,” says Hsieh. “Leather continues to change, even though the animal it came from is dead. It develops a patina with use, for example. That’s what got us excited about working with it in the first place.”
Figure 21 bags and accessories are designed to showcase and preserve the original form of the leather each piece is crafted from. Wallets and purses have raw edges and are lightly stained in rich earth tones to allow the natural grain of the skin to show through; the colors are highlighted with contrasting stitching in thick, waxed-cotton thread. Smaller pieces of leather are left whole and folded into asymmetrical billfolds, eyeglass cases and pouches. Pieces with a more polished aesthetic include a simple red tote with a brown strap and silver hardware, and a wallet with painstakingly applied pleating on the side to make it resemble a sleek black seashell. Belts and key chains are made out of leather strips left over from larger items.
Chang and Hsieh use brand new skins, but visit flea markets to find inspiration for their creations. Their store’s interior, which wouldn’t look out of place in a Japanese zakka catalog or shabby-chic decorating magazine, also reflects their passion for seeking out diamonds in the rough. Much of the furniture was plucked from dumpsters or the side of the road, while a vintage hand-operated sewing machine came from Chang’s childhood home. Vintage cameras, matchbox cars, candy tins, wooden shoe forms, plastic toys and a typewriter are carefully arranged like precious treasure in shelves made of weathered wood. Chang and Hsieh work in a small alcove to the left of the entrance.
“We like to use recycled and found objects. We like things that are imperfect and marked, but that have a story,” says Hsieh.
Since the design of each item is based on the leather it is made from, every article in the store is limited edition. The store’s name is a play on the phrase “figure to one,” which points to the singular nature of each bag, wallet or key chain.
“We don’t go into the design process hoping that a certain item will become a bestseller,” says Hsieh. Custom orders take one week for small accessories, while bags can take up to three weeks to complete.
Most readymade bags in the store are priced in the range of NT$2,000 to NT$8,000 for larger items, including work satchels and tote bags. Wallets, billfolds and eyeglass cases sell for about NT$2,000 to NT$3,000. Stamped leather buttons and hair accessories are NT$100 each, while leather-covered notebooks are NT$980.
On April 26, The Lancet published a letter from two doctors at Taichung-based China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) warning that “Taiwan’s Health Care System is on the Brink of Collapse.” The authors said that “Years of policy inaction and mismanagement of resources have led to the National Health Insurance system operating under unsustainable conditions.” The pushback was immediate. Errors in the paper were quickly identified and publicized, to discredit the authors (the hospital apologized). CNA reported that CMUH said the letter described Taiwan in 2021 as having 62 nurses per 10,000 people, when the correct number was 78 nurses per 10,000
As we live longer, our risk of cognitive impairment is increasing. How can we delay the onset of symptoms? Do we have to give up every indulgence or can small changes make a difference? We asked neurologists for tips on how to keep our brains healthy for life. TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH “All of the sensible things that apply to bodily health apply to brain health,” says Suzanne O’Sullivan, a consultant in neurology at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, and the author of The Age of Diagnosis. “When you’re 20, you can get away with absolute
May 5 to May 11 What started out as friction between Taiwanese students at Taichung First High School and a Japanese head cook escalated dramatically over the first two weeks of May 1927. It began on April 30 when the cook’s wife knew that lotus starch used in that night’s dinner had rat feces in it, but failed to inform staff until the meal was already prepared. The students believed that her silence was intentional, and filed a complaint. The school’s Japanese administrators sided with the cook’s family, dismissing the students as troublemakers and clamping down on their freedoms — with
As Donald Trump’s executive order in March led to the shuttering of Voice of America (VOA) — the global broadcaster whose roots date back to the fight against Nazi propaganda — he quickly attracted support from figures not used to aligning themselves with any US administration. Trump had ordered the US Agency for Global Media, the federal agency that funds VOA and other groups promoting independent journalism overseas, to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” The decision suddenly halted programming in 49 languages to more than 425 million people. In Moscow, Margarita Simonyan, the hardline editor-in-chief of the
RSS