Introducing: Hide, a shop for leather enthusiasts that isn’t Northbound
The place: Sisters Susana and Sandra Erazo opened up Hide on Dundas West as a means to showcase Susana’s handmade leather goods, and along the way they’ve introduced some other local and handcrafted items. The store is fairly rustic, complete with vintage wooden crates and dressmaker dummies that display the goods: a wrought iron base of an old Singer sewing machine dresses up a table; necklaces are looped onto a pair of antlers; and bracelets are displayed atop a copse of tree stumps. Meanwhile, Susana’s studio is housed in the back.
The stuff: The boutique focuses on handcrafted accessories, with the majority of the goods made in Canada. “It’s so hard to make it over here,” notes Susana, “so I like to support local artists who create unique and interesting pieces.” Most of the leather goods—which include belts, bags and cuffs—are created by Susana, using vegetable-tanned Italian leather and natural dyes. Sold alongside Susana’s goods are knitted sweaters and accessories from Desperately Different by Katya Revenko, leather jewellery from The Leather Atelier, exclusive silkscreened scarves from Jacob Horwood, a collection of silk scarves from Laos and leather-bound notepads from Negash Design.
The shoppers: Leather enthusiasts, supporters of locally made goods and those who love artisan craftsmanship will likely be found browsing the selection. While many of the products are for women, men aren’t left out thanks to a small selection of belts, notebooks and unisex cuffs.
Our favourite things: We instantly fell for a lambs’ wool piece that’s part-sweater, part-poncho, with—in case that isn’t enough—a bit of scarf thrown in for good measure ($480). A series of brightly coloured belts with a slide closure caught our eye ($125), as did a cut-out belt in the style of a corset ($185). Meanwhile, a small cowhide purse–complete with its natural hair–conjured up scenes from Little House on the Prairie, while a hand-painted necklace with a geometric design would make a welcome addition to any plain little black dress ($125).
Hide, 789 Dundas St. W., 647-349-5050.
