Working from her newly renovated historic family farmhouse in the Southwest of WA this Perth Upmarket creative indulges her passion on a daily basis in one of the most stunning home studios we’ve ever seen!
A Perth Upmarket creative with a passion for leather
Fliss loves working with leather the feel, the smell and all the divine imperfections of a natural fabric and you can see her passion shining through in all of her stunning designs.
Creating some the most beautiful, luxe hand-crafted leather bags and accessories. From cool cuffs, through fabulous clutches, to slouchy totes and oversized shoulder totes Fliss’s Bahru brand has become a firm customer favourite at Upmarket.
So we thought we’d find out what a typical day on the farm looks like for this Perth Upmarket ambassador.
So why farm life?
After years of living overseas in Singapore and The Netherlands, Fliss and her husband had a burning desire to raise their children on her childhood family farm back in the South west of WA.
“My grandfather came here to farm in 1936 when he was 21 years old and my dad also grew up here. When I was younger we had beef cattle and a dairy, now it’s solely beef cattle and the farm is run in conjunction with my brother’s farm which is 3 hours north of Perth. It’s a beautiful place to bring up our kids and a great place to work from.
Our workspaces are in the Old Stables – a beautiful limestone building built around 1850.’”
So what’s a typical day like for this Perth Upmarket Creative?
“My day kicks off with collecting the eggs for breakfast with our kids before they head off to school then a quick walk with the dog before my working day in the studio begins.”
“It’s a beautiful space to work with thick stone walls and weathered, wonky floorboards and lots of space to store stock, display items I use for markets and my desk area.
My working day begins with hand packing any orders that need to go out that day. I love to write a personalised little note to go with my customers new bag and it’s always interesting to get orders from all parts of Australia and sometimes overseas too.
I often wonder how someone in country Victoria or far North Queensland has come across Bahru. The power of word of mouth and social media is huge and is a really great support for small businesses.”
“Once all my orders are done and dropped off to the local post office it’s time to get creative. I usually pop on my latest favourite podcast in the background and get designing. Surrounding myself with leather swatches, zips, clasps, pencil and paper and sketch new designs or tweak existing designs. One of the best things about Perth Upmarket is talking in person with customers – new or loyal – about what they want in a bag design.
My aim with Bahru has always been to create ‘beautiful practical’ pieces that look and feel amazing but are functional to help make life that little bit easier.
Like most of my customers I am a busy mum juggling kids, work and life so I know what a practical everyday bag should do in order to help them when they’re on the go with their hands full.”
“My creative Bahru working day usually finishes at school pick up time but as with a lot of working mums I sometimes carry on into the night after the kids have gone to bed!”
Perth Upmarket customers would love to know why are you bags named after cities?
“I have always been a big traveller so that is part of it but also I feel naming the bags after something people can identify with is an element that adds to the endearing story of the brand and the creative behind it.”
If you haven’t yet got your hands on one of this Upmarket creatives stunning Bahru Leather bags be sure to check her out at one of our Quarterly Upmarket Events or jump over to her website now by clicking here
If you enjoyed this blog you might also like to read about the Perth Upmarket retailer creating ethical masterpieces from breathtaking Australian timber