Our Story
Mackenzie Leather Edinburgh
Story
Mackenzie Leather Edinburgh is a traditional leather artisan shop situated in the bustling heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, in the makers’ haven of St. Mary’s Street in 2017, though its story begins long before then. It produces the finest quality leather bags, briefcases, belts and accessories on-site, by Skilled Craftsmen.
Established in Edinburgh 1990, the exclusive brand was developed by devoted families’ teams; Since 2011, it has been developed by Master Craftsman, Owner and Director, Simon Harvey Potts, and Co-owner & Creative Director, Elena Álvarez.
Simon Harvey Potts
A keen artist as a child, Simon felt drawn to the creative world at a young age. During a visit to Spain in his late teens, he came across communities of leather artisans in Granada, Andalucía. He was impressed by their craftwork, knowledge and skill. These Spanish craftsmen generously shared of their time and expertise, and gave Simon his first tools. They showed him some basic techniques and taught him how to select the very best quality hides to work with.
He fell in love with the craft during this time, beginning to sell his crafts in local markets. He worked on leather projects, honing his skills and fuelling his passion for leather work while travelling round Spain, France and Italy.
Elena Álvarez
Elena became Co-owner and Creative Director of Mackenzie in 2016 following her investment in the company. Prior to this, she had been advising Simon since the business’s acquisition in 2011. Her significant influence has been instrumental in integrating contemporary fashion elements, thereby evolving the business while honouring its traditional heritage.
Originally from Madrid, Elena relocated to Edinburgh in 2003 to pursue English language studies to complement her Tourism Business and Activities degree. She gained extensive experience in the tourism sectors, learning from the best Tourist Companies of Madrid and in Scotland. Afterward, she sought to establish herself as a businesswoman and successfully developed her own ventures before permanently joining Mackenzie Leather Edinburgh.
Together with Simon, Elena has earned numerous awards. One accolade she particularly values is the nomination for Best British Entrepreneurs in 2022. Elena’s dedication to business, fashion, art, and creativity continues to propel the brand forward. As she puts it;
“Our goal is to blend tradition with innovation, creating timeless pieces that resonate with our customers’ lifestyles.”
Simon’s story
In 2007, Simon applied to “The Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust”, presided by The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay. Still a young entrepreneur at 25 years old, his next opportunity and step up the ladder came supported by this distinguished Trust. He was granted enough money to acquire the tools needed for running his own leather workshops, which he began alongside continuing to produce and sell his own name leather goods, and a healthy number of part time hours for Mackenzie.
This gave rise to a wonderful opportunity to organise and facilitate leather workshops in different parts of the UK, teaching small groups of people the tools of the trade. Simon ran these workshops throughout the years, often teaching fully booked classes of up to 12 participants, of whom some would go on to create incredible pieces of leather craft. One individual who was particularly inspired by attending one of the weekend courses has since taken up the profession, and now works for an established company in the North East of England.
It was Simon’s friend, Tom Hirons, who introduced him to Mackenzie in 2003. Tom taught him how to make a belt, sporran and book bag before moving on to the more technical pieces. His encouragement and competent teaching nurtured an existing passion for leatherwork in Simon which enabled him to flourish in this field.
The original owners of Mackenzie were Andrew and Jill Leggatt who were at the helm of operations when Simon joined them. They navigated the business through some extremely difficult economic challenges during the financial crisis of the late 00s which forced the shop from its original home on Victoria Street. It found a new base, trading from a shop in Dundas Street with a workshop out of town.
The Leggatts’ passion for the business, and for developing their craftspeople prevailed, and the business thrived despite the external circumstances. Andrew’s encouragement and commitment to passing on his expertise fuelled Simon’s existing potential, and he flourished under Andrew’s mentorship.
Their dedication to training and encouraging Simon enabled his craftmanship skill to grow and develop. Simon’s passion for learning and working with leather was evident from the outset, and when Andrew and Jill decided to pass the business on, Simon was more than ready to steer Mackenzie through the next stage of its journey.
On the auspicious date of 11th November 2011, with encouragement from Elena, Simon proudly took over the reins of Mackenzie Leather Edinburgh, and committed to drive the business forward while honouring the heritage that Andrew, Tom had many others along the way had created.
When Simon took over, he knew that he wanted to move the business back to the Old Town, and have the workshop and shopfront together.
Simon closed the shop on Dundas Street and worked from a studio for five years, trading solely online and at events such as The Royal Highland Show. It took many years of searching to find the right premises, but finally he found the perfect space in St. Mary’s Street, just off the Royal Mile.
The traditional shopfront opened to the light, spacious showroom, and the clear view through to the workshop enabled visitors to watch the craftsmen at work.
In this street Mackenzie now calls home, they are surrounded by other makers and independent traders, and have a landlady eager to encourage craftspeople and artisans to the area.
Simon has always been keen to keep the craft of tradition leather work alive by sharing his skills with a new generation. Early on in his career, he was awarded a grant by Scottish Youth Princes Trust to buy the tools he needed to run workshops for young people. He saw people develop their skills and produce incredible pieces of leather craft.
One participant, Robert Ford, was particularly inspired by the course.
Andrew Dunn and Steven Grieve
Together with Simon, are currently in charge of production and the day-to-day running of the shop. They are all skilled and experienced craftsmen who have been learning their trade through hands-on experience. They approach the work from their individual areas of skill to become the latest experts in the field of leather craftsmanship.
There are many people who have shaped Mackenzie along the journey. Each leaves their unique legacy, and we are so thankful that they are part of the brand’s heritage.
Our Awards
Mackenzie Leather was recently awarded, with five-star Quality Assurance which is the highest award granted by the National Tourist Board, VisitScotland.
It is given to businesses who offer, a world-class visitor experience.
Since the shop was opened and thanks to, the big efforts made with passion, expanding creativity, and providing the best quality in the making of products, and customer service, we have proudly earned recognition, from different bodies.
Here are just a few of them.
