Riina O at London Craft Week
Riina O was delighted to be taking part of London Craft Week again this year, during the second week of May. This time we were invited to showcase at Bentleys Antiques in collaboration with Ascari bicycles from New York.
On the 11th and 12th May, Riina O was exhibiting a selection of gloves, doing the craft presentation and teaching two introductory archery-inspired glove masterclasses.
Bentleys Antiques is such a lovely treasure trove, selling the antiquities from around the world, collected by the owner Tim on his scavenger hunts. The exciting objects range from leather suitcases and other travel accessories to a refurbished seat from a fighter jet, reminding rather of a torture chair by its looks.
Especially for this event was created the first Riina O pair of luxurious made to measure unisex design of elegant leather cycling gloves, to accompany the gorgeous Ascari bicycles. The gloves are beautifully laser-cut for ventilation, inspired by the bicycle wheels, the hi-vis reflective material ensures safety at night and the foam padding softens the grip.
Helio Acari is the master bespoke bicycle maker from Brooklyn, New York. In addition to his truly luxurious leather-wrapped and bejeweled bicycles, he also produces the like of home accessories, bearing his inherent leather wrapping technique, inherited from his grandfather.
Similarly to last year, the archery-inspired glove making masterclasses were of great interest and ten people over two days in total got to learn the tricks of hand stitching soft gloving leather, which is rather different from the more common thicker leather or fabric, for that matter.
