Its quite possible that Darran had a hand in the shoes you wear or the bag you carry, having spent his life making both. As a skilled leather cutter he is a craftsman in his own right, and after a career break to teach he became the man that makes our works shop work. That’s not just in producing bags of extraordinary quality but also in making Chapman such an exceptional place to work
Aside from cutting by hand and eye every inch of canvas that we use at Chapman, Phil has another passion. Fittingly enough it involves a similar level of precision and eye for detail. Phil builds exact ( and we mean exact) scale replicas of aircraft such as the Supermarine Spitfire. So with no false modesty we can say he has a hand in creating two icons of British craftsmanship.
Jayne is one of the most talented and versatile artists you could hope to meet. From ceramic to stone, feather to leather Jayne has worked her skilful magic on them all, creating products both practical and beautiful. And her eye for quality and detail in leather painting and finishing are part of the alchemy of the Chapman workshop … and part of why our bags are as stylish and durable as they are.
Sean has made bag making his life's work from boy to man. Selecting and cutting leather to show off its beauty (and to work around the occasional imperfection) and make the most of every hide takes years of learning. That experience along with precision and dedication to his craft are what make Chapman and Sean what they are today.
You could say Cedric and Chapman were made for each other. As a child Cedric declared he wanted to run a shop stocking the best well made products he could find. And now he is making a British craft institution fit for generations to come. So quite simply owning and running Chapman is his dream job.