Today, we are learning story of Mr. Omar Hamid in Romania. Let him tell us how he turned his hobby into a full time business of Heritageleather Straps.
Well first, please introduce yourself to our audiences, and how and where did you learn the leather work skills, specifically making watch bands? How many years have you been doing this?
I am Omar Hamid, professionally I used to work as a lawyer, and I had a passion for watches since 2006. I did learn from YouTube and with practices, I have been doing this for three years and big part of that was practice.
Please tell us a bit more about Kronstadt, Brasov, Romania? Many of our audiences are in USA, they would like to learn more about the place. Hopefully one day I will have opportunity to visit.
Brasov city is in the heart of the Transylvania area in Romania. Surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains, it is full of beauty of every kind of wildlife and some views that you only see on screensavers. It is famous with being the birthplace of Vlad Tepes - the Impaler - also known as Count Dracula..but while you won't see vampires in here ( can't guarantee that) but you will see plenty of medieval castle and sights to visit. just a peaceful place.
All the work you have been doing are custom orders from customer from all over the world. Is this a full-time business or just a hobby? How are you get into this hobby?
So far, all my work is custom made, and it started as a hobby but thankfully now it's a full-time job. 3 years ago I saw a video on YouTube about making a gator watch strap and that was the spark, I decided to give it a try and see if I can do it, so basically I kept watching some more videos online..and try to apply it, and with practice and dedication I reached to the point that I could make straps that I'm proud of and I saw that they could sell, and thankfully now it's my full time work and I turned my passion to an income.
Where and how you choose to buy these exotic leathers?
I get my exotic leather from a company that is based in the United States however they have a branch in France, so I get my leather from their France shop.
How many straps can you handcraft every month? If our audiences are interested in ordering, how do they reach you? How long does it take to finish one strap?
I can do up to 60 straps per month, and so far, I'm active on Facebook throw my page "Heritageleather Straps" or to my email heritagestrap@gmail.com
The strap making time depends on how complicated it is, very basic strap with minimal stitches should take 2-3 hours to make and a very complicated strap such as the Royal Oak or Hublot strap can take up to 8 hours, but a standard strap should take 4-5 hours .
Thank you again for sharing your story with us, best wishes to you, hope you sell a lot these beautiful watch straps!