Spotlight: Ken Diamond
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting up with the amazingly talented, Ken Diamond in his Vancouver studio. Ken makes things out of leather, and he makes them all by hand! People are really buzzing about his work, and his moccasins were recently featured in Hobo Magazine.
One of the first things he showed me were the moccasins and as I ran my fingers over all the little details, I realised that the beauty of his leather work could only be fully appreciated in person. Sadly the internet is only optimized for two of the five senses, so your Ken Diamond experience is limited to the 20 or so photos I took during my visit.
Ken makes everything from belts to bicycle seats. Here’s an original design pressed right into the leather band on a great little hat for the rockabilly set.
A beautifully impolite drink coaster.
And a matching beer can sleeve. Love the detailing on the anchor.
Ken’s moccasins (this is the pair he actually wears) get better with age.
Vans x Ken Diamond, complete with braided laces.
Creative Recreation x Ken Diamond. Somehow Creative Rec dropped the ball, and this amazing collaboration never saw the light of day (but Ken’s got the greenlight on a crazier project, and I’ll tell you all about it as soon as I’m allowed).
Just another day at the office.
Everything is hand-stitched and hand-dyed by Ken himself.
If you’re looking for high quality one-of-a-kind leather products, head on over to Ken’s site and support a real craftsman.
*!!! - In my haste to post up this spotlight I failed to mention that Ken Diamond’s better half, the lovely Jolene Eeuwes, is the hands behind the moccasins! So the last line should read “support real craftspeople” - apologies Jo!
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Hand-stitched and hand dyed. That must take a very long time.
yea man, the details are crazy - this kind of thing isn’t happening nearly enough these days
[...] Vancouver local, Ken Diamond was just featured in a small piece on Jeff Hamada’s blog, booooooom.com. Ken is known for his work with leathers, hand dying, and hand stitching. He constructs every piece himself, all aspects of the design, all in his East Vancouver studio. He has gained some notoriety from his particularly dope moccasins. For men and women, he makes some of the nicest leather moccasins on the market. He has also done shelved projects for Creative Recreation along with a couple other collaborations. His work is of the highest quality. I’ve seen people so sad about losing their Ken Diamond Moccasins they post it on Craigslist that when their house was broken in, the moccasins are all they want back. Jeff Hamada was able to grab some great photos of Ken, his work, and his space. Definitely worth checking out here. [...]
KD’s work is amazing - they’re doing up leather buttons and accessories for the Larry line, and I am super stoked to be working with such talented local craftspeople. I have those mocs, and adore them.
Wicked post, Jeff!
[...] photos above are of Ken’s own, taken by Jeff Hamada. I found Ken’s info through Jeff’s blog, and jumped at the chance to own a pair. KD fashions wallets, belts, bags, etc. All by hand from [...]