HF by LT Tucson Leather Placemats, 13 x 19 inches, Set of 4, Handwoven Recycled Leather and Soft Cotton, Brown

In 1986 I made a trip to India as a buyer and product developer looking for inspiration. It would be the first of umpteen trips to India over three plus DECADES. That first trip introduced me to a part of the world where handcrafted goods made by generations within family-run businesses were part of the pattern of the culture and the backbone of the country. Each city, town or village I visited was rich with its own craftsmanship, artistry and entrepreneurial spirit.During one of those early visits at one family-run coir facility something interesting happened. Before my trip, a customer had challenged me to figure out a way to make a basic everyday coir doormat “PRETTY”. With the artisans now gathered around, we went to work to figure out how to put color and design onto a simple utility mat. Using natural coconut fibers (“coir”) as a base and natural dyes as coloring, we figured out a way to get the coconut fibers to accept and hold the handmade dye. The metal workers then began to hammer and cut various shapes and designs. Using one stencil per dye, and layering one odd-looking shape atop another, we turned a single bland, brown utility mat into a colorful work of ART. It really was at this moment that this simple combination of practicality and decoration ignited my life-long passion in home décor and established my basic principle of design.