Equus leather goods ooze quality and are in demand worldwide, yet are created by craftsmen in a tiny Teesdale workshop. Jenny Needham reports

LUXURY means different things to different people. Charlie and Dawn Trevor, who create top quality leather goods to last a lifetime in their workshop in a tiny hamlet in Teesdale, know exactly what it means to them.

“Many people use the term ‘luxury’ to simply mean a product that has a large price and a large marketing budget, but is actually made in the same factory in China as everything else you see on the high street,” says Charlie. “We believe luxury leather goods should be made by craftspeople here in England from the best materials in the world.”

It was this passionate belief that led to luxury leather goods brand Equus being born. Now the couple have customers on five continents and in around 70 countries, from people in North Yorkshire and Durham who have bought dog collars and leads, to members of the European Parliament and CEOs of major law firms, investment houses and banks in the US and Singapore who want the best bespoke leather belts and watchstraps. “We have had many interesting orders, including from celebrities,” says Charlie. “You would certainly recognise some of the names in our order book.”

Charlie, who has just turned 40, was born and raised in the area and rode horses for a living when he was a young man. He was based with a Master Saddler and Three-Day Event trainer, who sparked his interest and gave him some basic training. “I developed my skills from there really, along with training with various other Master Saddlers,” he says. He also has a degree in Finance so is confident with the technical as well as the creative side of running the business.

“I like problem solving and continually refining my own skills and the business to make better and better products,” he says. “I have always known how I want things to look and our house style is based around what I consider beautiful, so that’s my more creative side coming out.”

Dawn, 36, was born in Hartlepool, but spent weekends and holidays in the area at a local stables. “I have absolutely no business background,” she laughs. “I’m a science teacher by trade, having been a veterinary nurse before that. Everything business-wise, I’ve learnt on the job from Charlie.”

The couple believe their products should be beautiful, but also maintainable and repairable so they last a lifetime. “Luxury doesn’t just mean expensive; it should mean a craftsman’s time and love has gone into it. It should become an item its owner loves and which gives them many years of service,” says Charlie.

The best materials are completely intrinsic to what they do. Everything they create has the best constituent parts they can source regardless of cost, including the leather, but also the metalwork; even the threads are the best of their type.

“We constantly scour the world to get the very best,” says Charlie. “For instance, we source buckles from a knife maker and blacksmith in Japan who makes buckles just for us, and many of our tools are handmade one offs designed to our own specification. However, we're lucky that bridle leather, the leather we are most famous for working with, is an English product so we source this, as well as many of our buckles, here in England. We work with two tanneries in England who produce amazing leather.”

There are currently seven craftspeople in the Equus stable, but it’s growing all the time. Everything is entirely made in England. Some of the workers are further afield because there aren’t enough skilled workers locally, but much of what they produce comes out of the Westholme workshop. “I still make personally a lot of our premium work,” says Charlie.

Charlie and Dawn live a very traditional country life, in a stone house in a small village – Winston - with two lovely dogs. Dawn has horses who live a little way down the road. “We are country people and our work is definitely influenced by that kind of lifestyle,” she says. “We describe our work as luxury influenced by the colours, textures and shapes of the English countryside.”

Equus belts cost from £80, although customers will routinely invest £500, the kind of customer who wants the very best to their precise specification, often involving precious metals. Charlie and Dawn send leather and thread samples all round the world so people can see the materials first hand and determine exactly the colour combinations they'd like.

Charlie stresses that the company’s traditional range of belts at around £80 are made with just the same care and workmanship and represent amazing value for money. “One of our bridle leather belts will very likely last 15 or 20 years; that’s maybe £5 per year. A £20 belt from the high street will last a year or two on the whole before it’s worn out - you don't need to be an economist to see which is better value,” he says. “As well as costing less over the long run, you get to own something lovely, not something made in a sweatshop in the Far East. Certainly we make expensive things, but they are expensive things that last, get better with age and represent great value because the money is spent on the materials and craftsmanship, not huge marketing campaigns.”

Charlie is entirely faithful to his own brand and says it must be something like 20 years since he last wore a belt made by someone else. “I have significant resources available dedicated specifically to making the best leather goods possible, so it would be a bit worrying if I went to M&S,” he laughs. “The only leather items I own made by someone else are sofas, car seats or things I have inherited.”

  • Equus goods can be ordered on the website equusleather.co.uk; or by phone 0191-6408774