Nicolette Kaliebe

Studio 23D

Leather

Painting reclaimed leather apparel and accessories with hand-painted designs​

     I cherish all things refined: food, fabric, landscape, company. My definition of refinement describes any item or experience that will heighten my senses through an initial spark of surprise. The twinkle I see in a customer's eye after I explain that all my wearable leather art is repurposed is the kind of surprise I aim for.

     My work is an invitation to the senses; the soft and supple touch of conditioned leather is soothing, the scent is clean and earthy, a consistent saturation of color and hand-painted designs satisfies what you see. But knowing that your senses are taking in a fresh representation of something reclaimed elicits a sense of calm in your heart. I aim to prove that high quality fashion does not have to be expensive or brand new and can be achieved without laying waste to our planet.

     After acquiring a BS in Marketing and Consumer Behavior & Psychology in 2013, this labor of love began because I did not want to become a player in what I consider not only to be damaging to our planet but also our connection to it. I wanted to rebrand a product that not just motivated me creatively but kept our planet in mind. The Nicolette Collection was born. It started with reclaimed purses and the collection has since expanded to include leather jackets, boots and shoes, wallets, and gloves.

     To reclaim leather apparel and accessories takes time and takes love. It is a process of professionally cleaning interior linings, deep conditioning exterior leather, and re-tinting the entire item. My designs are always inspired by nature, what I consider to show us the most refine level of life. To ensure the permanence of the color and designs, I seal each piece with a protective, water-resistant coating, that adds a finished luster. I started out reclaiming purses and I have since expanded the line to include leather jackets, boots and shoes, wallets, and gloves.

     With my degree in Marketing, I am fully aware of how simple it can be to convince a person the value of anything, but this leaves a consumer dissatisfied, peering through a crafted lens of limited abundance. The old paradigm developed by marketeers that distinguished “refined” goods as new and expensive is now juxtaposed with the demand for environmentally conscientious products. What it means to be rich is shifting, and I create wearable art that fosters a feeling of wealth from something once considered old.

What I create is something with new existence, out of something pre-existing, and because of modern, mindful consumers, it achieves greater value for it. To experience a luxury item with your senses, and then to learn that it was repurposed, exemplifies that refined adornment can be owned by all without a cost to nature.