Venture into the unknown

[Bytania Ephrem]

Some time ago, while musing to myself about modern fashion and my country, I came to an odds about the apparent lack of the combination. Researching further, I realised that Ethiopia had some of the best
leather in the world, however rarely benefits from its true value. Most
of the leather is exported to Italy, Germany, China and the like, then
re-exported to the rest of the world.

Combining the beautiful crafts that I know exist in Ethiopia with the finest leather possible, led me to start an ethical brand (BITANIA). Many of the crafted works you’ll find in my designs try to use age-old techniques, some that are gradually being
replaced by modern ones. I’m trying to keep the old crafts that I
admired as a child alive, and provide a growing demand for these
craftsmans works. Combining embroidery, handwoven cotton and locally
sourced leather is the goal for this collection, and those to follow

The road towards realising my leather articles has been long and treacherous. I kid, I kid, it’s not as dangerous as I made it out to be. However, it has been long and confusing. I’ve always known that
Ethiopia has high quality leather, what I failed to understand was that
there are so many different varieties.

Over the past couple of months I’ve learned about tanning techniques, names of the finished leather, suitability etc…I’ve also learned that getting things done in Ethiopia works better in theory than in practice.

After multiple trips to traditional weavers, metalworkers and leather craftsman, my journey is almost at an end. I’m happy to say that after a week, I hope to have the first design ready for purchase (fingers
crossed). So keep checking back, and thanks for the support

With Much Love from Ethiopia
- B. Ephrem