Paris,
Head to Place du Palais Bourbon, right in the centre of Paris, to find Atelier Renard, a
workshop which is home to a team of passionate and expert saddler leatherworkers.
Founded back in the 1940s by Joseph Renard, the first leatherworker compagnon of Le Tour
de France des Compagnons (an elite French craft guild), Atelier Renard produces luxury
leather goods which are made to order, using traditional techniques.
A time-honoured tradition
In this timeless workshop, we work leather by hand, inspired by a tradition which has existed
for thousands of years, creating leather handbags, purses, belts, rucksacks and luggage
which all boast stylish elegance and understated luxury. If you’re looking for a saddler leather
workshop in Paris for a bespoke piece, Atelier Renard is exactly what you’re looking for!
Expert saddler leatherworkers whose craftsmanship is at the heart of everything they do
An Atelier Renard leather bag is distinctive because of the unique expertise behind it.
Choosing the right leather
At Atelier Renard, quality leathers are the basis of every piece created by our skilled
leatherworkers. They work with a wide range of smooth and full grain leathers, from calfskin
to cowhide, along with exotic leathers including python, Porosus crocodile, ostrich and
shagreen for an incredibly stylish result. Taupe, yellow, royal blue or almond green: choose
from natural and traditional colours or take your pick from a range of rather more surprising
shades.
If you want to, you can personalise your leather bag on both the inside and the outside.
Fancy a fuchsia lambskin lining? Then that’s exactly what you’ll get! Here at Atelier Renard,
everything’s made of leather, even if you can’t see it! From the gusset to the lining, from an
inside pocket to an initial, no detail is overlooked.
At Atelier Renard, your Parisian saddler leather workshop, you’ll find bespoke bags which
are made to order for men and women.
Saddler stitching
At Atelier Renard, all our pieces are sewn with saddle stitching, a truly remarkable kind of
stitching. Using time-honoured techniques, this hard-wearing stitching is sewn by hand.
Saddlers originally invented this nigh-on indestructible stitching for use in horse harnesses.
Trust us: saddler stitching is a traditional stitching technique which guarantees strength and
solidity.
Because it’s sewn entirely by hand, saddle stitching requires impressive skill and precision.
Close together, the visible stitches create a distinctive and authentic style. These stitches are
incredibly strong because they are individually knotted, making them less likely to come
loose if a neighbouring stitch breaks.
Years of practice are required to produce perfect stitching with this saddlery technique. Our
saddler leatherworkers use very specific tools, including the stitching clam, the awl, the
pairing knife and the burnisher, to create hard-wearing and distinctive pieces which age
beautifully. Each piece is the work of a single leatherworker, from preparation to production.
The saddler leatherworker uses a strong thread (of varying thickness, depending on the
piece which is being created), passing it evenly through the holes which have been made in
the leather. These visible, neat and uniform lines of stitching create the elegant finish of our
sellier (saddler-style) bags.
Atelier Renard’s unique leather pieces are all made by hand by skilled leatherworkers with
expert knowledge of the saddlery tradition.
The finish
Saddle stitching, which dates back several centuries, adds a luxurious touch to leather bags,
guaranteeing superior quality and impressively long-lasting pieces. At Atelier Renard, we’re
passionate about quality craftsmanship and attention to detail.
The finish of a leather bag made by Atelier Renard is truly remarkable. It’s also proof of the
work of a quality saddler leatherworker and their expert craftsmanship. For a sellier (saddler-
style) bag, the pieces are sewn by hand: no automated machines here! At Atelier Renard,
our talented leatherworkers’ hands take centre stage.
The secret? Each bag is carefully stitched for an understated yet incredibly hard-wearing
result. This technique requires real expertise and careful consideration of various elements:
the type of thread, the kind of leather, the specific stitch and the shape of the bag. A quality
finish is the sign of a luxury bag and at Atelier Renard, we demand nothing less than
perfection.
Elegant and sophisticated, our bags are unique and utterly distinctive, down to the very last
detail.
Expert saddler leatherworkers and a genuinely close relationship
Behind the Assemblée Nationale, at the rear of a typically Parisian cobbled courtyard which
is filled with flowers: that’s where the magic happens, in the capable hands of our skilled
saddler leatherworkers.
The luxury of time
Inside the Parisian hideaway of Atelier Renard, the word luxury takes on a whole new
meaning. So often misrepresented, it comes into its own here. It evokes the time spent
working with the finest materials, respect for craftsmanship and creativity and genuinely
close relationship with our clients. At Atelier Renard, we’ve taken an age-old technique and
added a contemporary, innovative and creative touch.
Time. Atelier Renard sees time itself as a luxury. Here, we take the time to talk. We discuss
what our clients want and how they’d like to personalise their pieces. Designed to meet every
client’s needs, down to the very last detail, our leather goods are the ultimate ambassador for
Atelier Renard. Excellence takes time.
A leather bag which is stitched entirely by hand calls for patience; bespoke leatherwork is a
painstaking process. When making a leather bag, Atelier Renard’s compagnons repeat the
same movements, over and over again.
The luxury of a bespoke piece
Whatever you have in mind, Atelier Renard can create the leather piece of your dreams. Our
leatherworkers create genuinely bespoke items, producing leather bags and other leather
goods which are inspired by your imagination!
We’ve created some truly extraordinary pieces, including:
lambskin trays decorated with Swarovski crystals to celebrate the birth of a princess;
a Japanese knife mount to hang in the kitchen of a château;
an assortment of waste paper baskets and desk accessories for the cabins of a truly
extraordinary yacht;
an ostrich leather case with a suitcase-inspired design to hold 3 wonderful bottles of wine;
cases for luxury perfume bottles;
office accessories for the Élysée Palace;
travel accessories to match a classic car’s leather.
Nothing can stop our talented saddler leatherworkers! As you can tell, the sky’s the limit at
Atelier Renard. We think that’s the real definition of luxury.
Our relationship with our clients
Working closely with her team, Brigitte develops genuinely close relationships with her
clients. Since taking the reins at Atelier Renard back in 2000, she has gone to great lengths
to develop a unique relationship with each and every client. More than a mere working
relationship, Brigitte sees Atelier Renard’s clients as friends. Here, exceptional people come
together to share a passion for traditional expertise and French craftsmanship: the ultimate
luxury.
Developing a meaningful and long-lasting relationship which is based on trust and respect is
the best way to create leather goods which reflect who our dear clients really are. With the
help of our team of expert saddler leatherworkers, you can choose the style, the leather and
the finishing touches of a hand-made bag which you’ll treasure for years to come, watching it
develop a beautiful patina over time.
Atelier Renard’s relationship with its clients is inspired by a sense of shared heritage, that of
traditional saddler leather goods. Atelier Renard’s bags are passed down from generation to
generation, creating an unbreakable emotional bond between Atelier Renard and its clients.
We believe that everything we do should stand the test of time, from our hand-made pieces
to our relationships with our clients. The testimonials and heart-warming comments from our
clients on our Instagram account are proof of how close we are to our clients.
Atelier Renard is a saddler leather workshop in the heart of Paris which is decidedly
international. Drawn to our unique expertise and distinctly French feel, our clients come from
all over the world, as proven by our close ties to Japan! Online Zoom meetings help Atelier
Renard to stay in touch with its Japanese clients.
Hidden away behind the Palais Bourbon, Atelier Renard’s expert saddler leathermakers work
every day to produce unique leather goods by hand, inspired by a long-standing and
traditional technique. It’s a little-known Parisian workshop which is much-loved by those who
are passionate about customised leather pieces. In addition to soft and sellier saddler-style
leather bags, we also offer a range of other accessories: card holders, toiletry bags, luggage,
desk sets, iPad cases and plenty more besides. At Atelier Renard, we bring together style,
simplicity and a touch of luxury to create pieces which reflect who you are. Each bespoke
piece is the result of real teamwork: designed to satisfy your every whim, it’s the perfect
accessory for use every day. Each piece is unique and made to last.
Want to find out more about the ordering process? Read the FAQs or contact us
to discuss your ideas!
