PEARTREE LEATHER Brand Collab

PEARTREE LEATHER

Brand Collab

Before leaving Ontario, I came up with the idea of connecting with a number of lifestyle brands, local and global, who I thought would be interested in what I was setting out to do with coffee, urban spaces, and travel. One of the brands now partnering with me on The Nomad Barista project is one a little closer to home, Peartree Leather, based out of Hamilton, Ontario. I had been following their Instagram for about a year, and always thought it would be great to work together at some point.

In making contact with the man behind the stitches, Chris Poirier, it turns out that he is not only a local leather smith, but a barista at The Cannon in Hamilton as well, so you can imagine how his enthusiasm about the collaboration matched mine. I took the opportunity a week before I left for Vancouver to sit down with Chris at Saint James for a coffee chat, and here’s what I deduced.

Chris had entered the world of coffee-making about 4 years ago now in Hamilton, starting at a small café/bar called Sanctuary on King William, later making his way to Earth to Table Bread Bar on Locke St pulling high volumes of espresso based drinks in a fast-paced environment. Leather came along while he was in University, by way of what he explains as a clever case of procrastination. During exam season, instead of hitting the books, he’d be slicing leather, attempting to piece together the perfect, hand-made shoes.

Though the whole shoe thing didn’t work out for a variety of really good reasons, it introduced him to the vast realm of leather, and he began to discover various properties of the material that fascinated and inspired him to start up Peartree just 2 years ago. Developing his skills also as a barista, he spoke about some of the parallels he’s observed between the two crafts, including the move away from commercial production, as well as the passion put into preparing an authentic and unique end result.

Big thanks to Chris for taking the time to chat, and I’m super excited to see everything unfold on this trip!