About JimmieWilliam Leather Accessories
At JimmieWilliam we believe in honest, beautiful and traditional leather goods. Each and every one-of our pieces is handmade in England and comes with a guarantee of durability and satisfaction.
JimmieWilliam uses only full-grain leather. Along with the natural grain of the hide, this type of leather can be marked with unique and natural imperfections. Despite this, it is still widely recognised as the best and highest-quality leather in the world. Many high-end designer brands opt for top-grain leather, where a layer is taken off to remove any defects so that all their goods look uniform. This not only destroys the unique aesthetic of the leather, but also its durability.
Full-grain leather looks more and more beautiful with each use and will develop a rich patina as it begins to wear and age. If you invest in a full-grain leather item it will pay dividends; you will probably have it for the rest of your life. What’s more, using full-grain leather means that no two JimmieWilliam pieces will ever be the same, and, along with monogramming (included in all our prices), you will have one of the most personal and original leather goods money can buy.
About Jimmie
Jimmie was an Australian farmer. He was a man attuned to boundless open spaces, who spent much of his life working on cattle stations in the Outback and enjoying his love for horse racing, fly-fishing and leather craft.
As a boy, Jimmie had been taught to stitch and plait leather by his uncle and later in his life he could be found tinkering away on a belt or mending saddlery in his shed on weekends.
Simple in design and beautifully crafted, his pieces were always made with good quality hide and beautiful buckles. He never sold a thing, but gifted them to friends and family.
Jimmie wasn’t necessarily a fashionable man but believed in buying things that were well-made and functional. Some years ago he made his daughter Muffie a clutch, the design of which is the basis of the JimmieWilliam collection you see today.
James William Sproat 1946-2014
About The Founder
Muffie Sproat grew up on a farm in the beautiful New England region of New South Wales, Australia.
After leaving university, she ventured overseas to Europe with a leather-bound journal that her father Jimmie had made.
Photography was her metier; she had always loved telling stories through it. As deputy picture editor of British Vogue, she spent many years exploring the magazine’s iconic archive – a hundred years of photography of the likes of Helmut Newton, Irving Penn and Clifford Coffin – whilst often surrounded by couture dresses that her five-year-old self could never have dreamt of.
The idea for JimmieWilliam was born after a two-year hiatus back home; time which was spent as picture editor of Vogue Australia whilst savouring her homeland’s endless skies. An honest and traditional range of leather goods designed to last forever was born. The brand combines her love of the land, her exposure to the world of fashion and the memory of her father.