OTZI Team and Workshop, Norwich, UK

OTZI's skilled team hand makes each piece to the highest standards of craftsmanship.

OTZI Workshop:

Our workshop is the heart of OTZI. It's here in Norwich, UK, that we make every piece by hand, ensuring that craftsmanship and quality are at the forefront of everything we do. Each item is a product of focused craftsmanship, where every detail is considered, and every process and material respected.

OTZI is not only keeping craft skills alive and relevant, it is keeping them dynamic and vibrant. We obsessively prioritise the highest quality of craftsmanship and materials.

OTZI maintains and builds upon traditional craft practices such as hand stitching, lacing, cutting and finishing, keeping artisanal leatherworking thriving in the UK. Combining traditional skills and materials with modern techniques such as CNC machining and laser cutting, OTZI ensures a contemporary approach that adopts the best of the old and the new. Innovations in the use, working, and application of leather are central to the workshop's output. We combine the age-old methods that are central to saddlery and leatherwork and pair them with traditional joinery and woodwork to create furniture pieces and objects of use that radiate a timeless elegance and form.

Bespoke Design and Scalable Craft

While we offer a curated collection of core designs, we also offer bespoke services. We frequently adapt the dimensions, materials, or details of existing pieces to suit a particular vision, and we welcome fully bespoke commissions where Otis acts as a consultant designer.

Our rare ability lies in scaling craftsmanship. We can prototype quickly and produce work in large runs for private or commercial projects without compromising on traditional techniques or material integrity.

OTZI benefits from the support and guidance of the Worshipful Companies of Leathersellers and Saddlers, as well as the Queen Elizabeth Trust (QEST), and featured in guides such as the Homo Faber Guide.

Capabilities:

• Interpretation of technical drawings
• Design
• Material sourcing
• CNC
• Laser etching
• Embossing / debossing
• Woodwork
• Leatherwork

Otis Ingrams:

Otis Ingrams has been working with leather for over 15 years. OTZI was born out of Otis's need to work with his hands and to create work with a permanence and durability, in contrast to the disposability of so many of today's items. Inspired by William Morris' sentiment “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” Otis wanted to make functional yet beautiful pieces that can withstand and be enhanced by the rigours of regular use. Drawn towards leather as a core material not only for the feel and handle of the material and the sheer breadth of design applications it has, but the strong environmental and sustainability credentials it possesses he began making small leathergoods and bespoke leatherwork for interiors. After years investigating the potential and the possibilities of leather, he published 'Leatherworks: Traditional Craft for Modern Living' in 2017, a craft book offering a step-by-step guide to the basics. In 2018 he was made a QEST scholar with the support of the Leathersellers' Company. With their support, Otis completed a BA in Product and Furniture Design from Kingston University.

From a nomadic beginning across London, Otis established OTZI in 2019 in Norwich, Norfolk and has developed an ever-growing collection of interior objects and furniture made from leather and hardwood. At OTZI, Otis is supported by a dedicated team of highly trained craftspeople; all with training and experience in their crafts, as well as additional ongoing one on one training and guidance from Otis.

OTZI Craftspeople:

The craftspeople who make the pieces are obviously absolutely central to OTZI, but not just because they make the pieces; the team care deeply about their craft, about the materials, and about the specific pieces they tackle every day. The OTZI team of artisans are highly skilled in traditional and modern craft. At OTZI each piece, whether bespoke or from our collection, is carefully hand-crafted for optimal aesthetic and functional satisfaction. The whole team are passionate, enthusiastic, and care for their work and the materials they use, which means that skills are always being shared and improvements are always being made. When a new craftsperson joins, either as an apprentice or with qualifications, the team works together to train them up to (and often past) the standard required for the challenging and labour intensive pieces OTZI produces.

Isabelle Ingrams:

At the helm of the business is Isabelle. Providing a vital interface between the client and the workshop; focussing on guaranteeing that the service delivery is as perfect, enjoyable, and reliable as the OTZI pieces themselves.