Ruighuid is so much more than an interior design feature; it is an extension of your personality.
Every Ruighuid item is made by hand. There is no machinery involved in production. Each piece of leather is one of a kind. It’s a tactile object, which can even be used for noise reduction.
The craftsman behind Ruighuid is Liesbeth Coelen, originally an Arts and Crafts teacher at a Secondary school in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Nowadays, she is also a businesswoman with her own company: ‘Ruighuid’ (Raw Hide).
How it started….
Some time ago, Liesbeth was employed as a consultant to a leather tanning company in the Netherlands. During her time there she was exposed to different treatments and processes used to produce beautiful pieces of leather. Since she didn’t want to invest in a leather stitching machine, the decision was to make an entirely hand-made product. The resulting item was a small, hand-crafted bag that would hold a plant. Liesbeth experimented with various types of leather and even more designs to understand the possibilities of the material. These bags then developed in size from XS (15 cm high) all the way up to XL (140 cm high) and in more sizes and shapes than you can imagine. To create a new product for a plant pot is challenging, but also rewarding. Still, Liesbeth continues to only use her own hands and no machinery during the design and manufacture of these vases.
Raw, rough and recognizable
Every time Liesbeth selects a cowhide for a product, the skin itself inspires her to decide what the next product will be. Liesbeth uses the topmost layer of the cowhide to make Ruighuid designs, all in natural colors and skin tones of the animal itself. She also tries to make an interesting ‘coat’ for her products by playing with the natural pattern of the skin to make the product more intriguing. Leather laces connect the pieces and only hand tools are used to do this. The leather lacing has become Liesbeth’s brand signature: Ruighuid.
Interior Design Elements
Ruighuid vases are not only an interior object for viewing. Liesbeth also hopes that people will want to touch the vases. The leather is natural, strong and rough, but has a high tactile quality. Liesbeth hopes to instill in consumers that Ruighuid’s products are made with passion and with the pure love of craftsmanship. The Dutch brand Ruighuid is an instantly recognizable, exclusive, handmade design. If you put some beautiful plants in a Ruighuid vase, you will have an individual, eco-friendly, green interior as an extension of your personality.
Liesbeth’s personal note:
‘I believe that if you really want to do something in your life nothing should stop you. My ambition and creativity never stopped – even during teaching. I also made some mistakes during my initial start-up phase. The important part of these mistakes is your experience on how to do better. Be proud of what you do and believe in your own creativity’.
Each piece is signed by Liesbeth Coelen, Owner and designer of Ruighuid (‘Raw Hide’)
More information at www.ruighuid.net
