Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/162531
LEATHER Stash Co. headquarters BOUND BY MARY LAMBRAKOS. PHOTOGRAPHY JENNY ANTILL. The walls of the old Haynes mattress factory, built in 1909, perspire and exhale, releasing the distinct scent of leather across a space saturated with the efforts of past industry. The crafting and manipulation of Cheryl Schulke's signature material within this site imbues an intimacy of personal history to the objects over which she labors. Her Stash Co. factory, located in Sealy an hour west of Houston, was built at the turn of the century for the production of handmade mattresses. The simple split-story structure — composed of white wooden siding that's narrow in width, long in profile and Quaker in feeling, was laid out adeptly for the segmentation and coordination of labor required to manufacture a mattress from its most elemental form, cotton. Movement was both horizontal and vertical: On the first floor, carts carried cargo from one end of the building to the other on a central iron track that's still visible in remnant form. On the eastern side, ground-floor bins received the cotton pedaled down from the lumbering gin overhead. As Schulke speaks about the history of the mattress factory, which was purchased by her grandparents mid-century and operated until 1976, it becomes apparent how integral this site and its heritage are to her work. Her familiarity with the mechanics of the old factory shifts her in symbolic alignment with its past laborers. From a tightly bound account of capital and labor, she unfolds an intimate, boisterous narrative that gives transitory form to the now-invisible figures that would crank exposed gears and shafts where she centers her own equally exacting practice today. Schulke, her partner Paul Forde and their team don't just design with leather, she insists, they build with it. That's her preferred word to convey the architectural rigor of her work, which advances from concept to sketch to wooden mold, then etching and waxing, all executed with precision and detail by the most essential tool of the trade: her hand. "Building," she says, "is simply a choreography of intense problem solving." Her design process begins with a dialogue of thought and practice that's never anchored in any one medium or an irreversible schedule. Tools devoted to past trades have been retrofitted to suit her needs. A hand-drawn sketch, a physical mold, the unforeseen result of material experimentation all impact and nuance her greater goal: creating a utilitarian form derived from her understanding of leather and her conceptual and aesthetic premise. At the factory, stacked cotton sacks resemble Schulke's own collection of vintage textiles, which includes mill sacks, buntings, military duffels and nautical flags. Their accumulation actually led to her company name: Stash, a moniker given by her family. When integrated with leather, these fragments impart a time stamp of authenticity to limited-edition travel totes and market bags, such as the American Legacy collection, which was inspired by her grandparents' time with the American Legion. The travel tote (a staple item in her repertoire) is emblazoned with remnant stars and stripes of a vintage American flag — the ideal fusion of the national spirit of exploration within a compact 45-inch carry-on (from $599). Her leather products range from journals, guitar straps and aprons to intimate clutches, and the aforementioned everyday market bags and travel totes. At 19 by 12 inches, her signature market bag ($299 to $449) is an adaptable piece offering ample room for modern essentials. Her clutch ($399 to $429) playfully features front flaps with sinuous edges that don't constrict the leather to a particular shape. Stash Co. does not currently maintain a storefront. Instead, Schulke embraces the Internet as a tool to remain local yet accessible to international markets. All orders are processed online and made to order, with an average four-week delivery time. When each bag is completed and ready to ship, she sears on the Stash brand to punctuate the completion of her efforts. She takes great delight in this transition: Her leather is alive, responsive to the personal history of its owner, each bag destined for its own patina of unique experiences. stashco.myshopify.com. AT THE FACTORY, STACKED COTTON SACKS RESEMBLE SCHULKE'S OWN COLLECTION OF VINTAGE TEXTILES, WHICH INCLUDES MILL SACKS, BUNTINGS, MILITARY DUFFELS AND NAUTICAL FLAGS. Cheryl Schulke Stash market bag