madebycate's Profile

Bio

Hello! As you’ve probably figured out, my name is Cate and I make stuff.

I’m an American expat temporarily stationed in China. When my job brought me over here, I brought my passion project with me – making great recycled leather bags and accessories. All my bags are cut by hand and I sew each one myself on a very serious unison feed industrial sewing machine.

I have been sewing leather bags since 2002, and crafting since I first figured out that playing with beads was more fun than eating them. I started Made by Cate in Portland, Oregon in 2006. As much fun as I’m having abroad, I do dream about returning to Portland and having a big garden and a flock of urban chickens. In the meantime, I have all manner of trim and textile markets to explore and some serious language learning to do.

I draw creative inspiration from the organic shapes of the botanical world. Each of my bags is part of a "family" named for a fruit tree. The list includes the Fig, the Persimmon, the Pomegranate, the Nectarine, and the Plum.

I also find inspiration in the materials I use, and sustainability is extremely important to me. The leather for my bags starts out as industrial leftovers - odd color lots, pieces with holes, torn edges, etc. My overall waste rate by weight is less than 2%. I find lots of different uses for my scraps - many of them become part of the signature "lotus" applique featured on many of my designs.

Please let me know if you have any questions about my work. Thanks for supporting hand made recycled goods!



All designs, descriptions, text, and images are copyright 2009 by made by cate.

Female, Born on February 25

Favorite Materials

leather, suede, heavy thread, hardware of all kinds