We’re Tess & Ariss, Welcome!
Working to repair the future of cobbling
Awl Together Leather is a custom leatherwork and shoe repair studio located in East Vancouver, BC, co-owned by Ariss Grutter and Tess Gobeil. We opened our doors during the COVID-19 pandemic on May 4th, 2021, after deciding we could work to change the homogenous demographics of our industry.
Ariss and Tess first met while working together at a local boot manufacturer and formed strong solidarity as underrepresented leatherworkers – both sick of sexism and unstable work environments. Together, we have over 10 years of leatherwork experience. We have named our company to reflect our collective values ‘All Together’ and a commonly used leather tool – an Awl.
We launched a Kickstarter campaign in April 2021 and reached our initial goal of 10k in 36hrs and 30 days later, on our grand opening, we had raised over 22k. In our first year of operation, 1428 customers walked through our door— 940 of whom became repeat customers. During that period, we completed 6694 individual jobs, ranging from a small restitch to re-dying Gucci’s leather countertops in Holt Renfrew. We keep thousands of items out of a landfill.
Welcome to Awl Together Leather!
We are passionate about our work!
The Leather
Our leather is constantly in rotation. We source locally and from afar. Our stock will always consist of 8 oz natural veg tan, 6-8 oz black oil tan, 8 – 10 oz black belting leather, many lightweight aniline and chrome-tanned leathers (black, red, blue, gold, silver, etc), lots and lots and lots of scraps. It’s likely we’ll also have some rough-out leathers (suede and nubuck) as well as the occasional exotic (ostrich shins, snakeskin). Craving something specific? Let us know. We’ll find it for you.
The Accessories
Want something extra spiffy on your jacket? Studs you say? We’ve got you. We’ll will add custom studs (of all shapes and sizes), rings, chains, buckles, straps, snaps and patches to just about anything. We also custom stamp words or patterns into leather with the options of a gold or silver finish.
Note: we do not provide patches (you’ve got to bring them) or embroidery!
The Hardware
We currently stock hardware in silver and brass in a variety of buckles, snaps, zippers, studs, spots, eyelets, rings & attachments! Have a nickel allergy? Don’t fret! We have solid brass options that are body safe for long-term use.
What We Don't Do
We don’t do hand or machine embroidering (it’s a special fancy machine), hot foil stamping or laser engraving.