The ChapterOne Story

The fact that you are here is an encouragement to me and lets me know that I have done something right for someone to know more about ChapterOne Leather. The sections that follows gives an insight as to how ChapterOne Leather came to be.

In the Beginning

Since my early teenage years I had always appreciated the elegance of anything that is made with good quality leather. Most of my milestones were celebrated by buying a leather item. I still remember when I started working at SriLankan Airlines in my 20s, my dad gifted me a leather briefcase. It was Light Brown with polished gold hardware and looked luxurious. When I took it with me, I could see people turned heads. It was the envy of many of my colleagues.

At anytime, I would save up and pay more for full-grain or top-grain leather products. I consider it to be a smart investment - it means cost savings in the longer run, is durable and therefore stands the test of time, good quality leather ages well, and adds a lot of elegance and character to your personality. The tagline of my business “Elegance - Character - Durability” which are the foundations of the ChapterOne Leather brand was influenced by my own interests in leather. So, I think among many other things that prepared me for leatherwork, my attraction to leather goods pushed me towards becoming a Leatherworker.  

I started with leather crafting in 2019 when I was not happy with the leather journal covers found in stores with big names. They didn’t serve the purpose of my needs for functionality. Also, learning that most of them are faux leather, or ‘genuine leather’ which is actually one of the lowest grades of leather, is a huge turn-off for me. 

After my first journal cover, I soon realized that I was good at leather crafting. So, I started to make leather wallets as gifts for my family. And, from there my interest grew into a passion. The passion grew into sort of a vice. It made me upgraded my skills, learn-learn-learn, and to constantly challenge myself with making something new.  

My son is my greatest fan. He is my cheerleader as well as my design consultant. When I launched my business he was 12 years old. It was he who constantly pushed me to share my work and my passion for it with you all. With his encouragement, on October 30th of 2020, ChapterOne Leather was launched as an eCommerce. The success of my business is dedicated to his future.

What’s in the Name?

The name ‘ChapterOne Leather’ is an unusual name for a leather business - I agree. Yet, it is sentimental. It represents a new beginning - the start of an epic story. I originate from a country where academics is revered as the standard of a person and standardized tests were the measuring stick. The problem with that was that you are ahead of the game if you can memorize class notes. Yet, for a person like me who is more right brained and need to be hands-on, it was a challenge. My classmates, friends, and family were being recognized and winning awards in Maths and Sciences; I was falling behind and never felt that I belonged in a highly competitive academic arena. It was in my ‘arts and crafts’ classes in school that I truly shined. Being known for average in academics for so long, one day in a senior elementary grade, my arts and craft teacher came upto me and said “you are a creatively gifted child”. This ignited the fire within me and I only felt that way once more when I held my son in my hands for the first time. This discovery helped me gain a new identity in school as a person who is creative and good with design. The first chapter in my story was so written. It was no surprise to me when I found joy and passion in leatherwork. I named the business ChapterOne to remind me that every person has their own life story that starts with that first chapter when they discover their true calling. I hope that my business will be an inspiration to those that are still seeking.

The Logo

The logo is C.O.C of ‘Chapter One Concepts’ connected together.
- Letter ‘C’ of ‘Chapter’ in the left facing the correct direction,

- the letter ‘O’ of ‘One’ in the middle, 

- and the letter ‘C’ of ‘Concepts’ on the right and facing left,

- all of them are connected to one another forming one circular entity as the logo.

Leatherwork is what I love to do, yet I am infamous to try new things in the creative realm. This is why the logo spells out ChapterOne ‘Concepts’. It was more of a long term thinking sort of thing.

The colours give true meaning to the logo.

- Red represents energy, passion, strength, and that at times we should stop to think and assess.

- Yellow represents creativity, emotion, originality, and an intellectual existence. 

- Orange represents that my leatherwork must embrace a mix of both red and yellow. It should be balanced and holistic. 

They influence my design concepts. I focus on aesthetics so that each item is elegant and has character. Good quality leather products are simply expensive, you won’t find a leather product that is cheap unless the business is closing and the inventory is being liquidated. In other words, with a good quality leather purchase you are making an investment. I recognize that. Therefore, to me each creation must serve a purpose and last a lifetime.

The characteristics represented by the colours represents how I run my business too. The ChapterOne organizational values - service excellence, respect to each other, practical solutions, strengthen the land, and community service are all embedded in the logo.

It is an awesome logo don’t you think?

Where to from here?

I want ChapterOne Leather to be a well known name when someone thinks of investing in a leather product. I want to achieve this with the quality of my creations speaking for itself rather than marketing gimmicks. It is simple as that and that is my promise.

When you invest in a leather product from ChapterOne Leather or refer me to family and friends, you are supporting a small business owner and contributing to the local economy. At the same time, you are standing beside me and ChapterOne Leather in the journey towards growth. I cannot ask for anything more encouraging than that.

If you read our story right upto this point, thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time. Please do consider sharing this page with your family, friends, and network. Our Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest handles are @ChapterOneLeather.

Have an awesome day!

Shaminda Perera, MEd.

Sole Artisan and Owner