Hello, I’m Rachel, founder of Shrew, a handcrafted, luxury leather goods brand based in Bath, Somerset.

I grew up on the outskirts of Bath and trained in Fashion Design at Manchester Metropolitan University before completing a Post Grad in Creative Pattern Cutting at Central Saint Martins. After graduating I started my career as Production Manager at a high end designer, moving into Design later on.

After moving back to Bath and having a family, I taught in schools for over a decade before returning to my creative roots as a stylist and Style Editor of Circus Journal. I also visited local schools and taught pupils about the impact of fashion fashion on the environment to encourage younger generations to make more informed and (hopefully) more sustainable choices - something I’ve been passionate about for a long time.

The Catalyst

My lovely nan sadly passed away during Covid and kindly left me a little sum of money, some of which I used to renovate the heavily 90’s wallpapered house I’d just moved into. The rest I decided to invest in myself and build a business to create a legacy. I’d shaken off the dreaded imposter syndrome which had been plaguing me for years and decided to realise my skill and love of working with leather.

My Mission

I create beautiful, made to order leather goods for women who are stylish, bold and unconventional - women that want great design, attention to detail, something different and something sustainable.

I work from my home studio/ dining room (hey, you’ve gotta start somewhere!) Everything is scored, cut, sanded, stitched and burnished by hand using traditional leather working tools and techniques.

The bags are made to order or bespoke. I craft each piece specifically to the client’s needs and create items to cherish. See something you like but not quite right? Get in touch, I can make it happen.