Episode 8 - Hamish Lamley

Pictavia Leather is owned and run by Hamish Lamley, based in Perthshire, the heart of Scotland. All leather products are designed and made by Hamish and his apprentices.Hamish has over a decade experience in traditional leatherworking, and through years of research and experimental archaeology has worked hard to explore Pictish culture. Hamish has consulted on and starred in various television shows to talk about the Picts and showcase Pictish culture.I began teaching myself leatherwork whilst bedbound for several years. It provided a way to focus my mind, and gave me a lot of time to pursue another avenue to researching my passion for history and archaeology. For me Leatherwork is also about function. I use traditional methods because they have also been developed over thousands of years, and are often the most functional and practical. I want my work to outlive me, and so I strive to create the most durable works to combine function and beauty.Leatherwork is my connection to the past. It is my way to solve problems as our ancestors did, to work at my own pace and see the world as they did.When I take knife, needle and thread to leather, it is with the same techniques that leather craftsmen have used for thousands of years as I explore early Medieval leatherworking methods and tools alongside their contemporary counterparts.There is the inherent challenge of trying to solve a problem using only the most basic of tools.It is my passion to recreate ancient Pictish artwork from the stone carvings and jewllery, bringing the old medium back to life in leather, and to research and produce historic replicas based on archaeological finds.