I have a sort of odd request/idea.
In August, 2021, I was looking for leather jackets on Etsy, and stumbled across a vendor who appeared to have some really awesome stuff. ZillLeather, it was called.
The storefront reminded me a lot of Five Star. Many pictures of great-looking custom-made jackets. Many kinds of available leathers, colours, custom offerings for both design and sizing advertised. The prices also looked good. So, I contacted.
I was surprised at how quickly my questions were responded to. The owner of the store, Hammad, invited me to chat on WhatsApp, which I did. I quickly learned that he was the operator of a small leather goods company in Pakistan, comprising himself and 3 other workers. He's a young man, early 20's, trying to get a foothold in the garment-making business. He was hungry for more sales and eager to show me what he could do, and to hopefully spread the word about his products. The back and forth eventually wound up as a video chat, which I found both interesting and exciting. He walked me around his small facility, showing me stacks of leather he uses for jackets, the colours, types, jackets in various stages of production, his team (he passed the camera over his team - three women were seated at sewing machines making jackets. I was surprised to realize it was midnight, their local time, and they were at his little factory making jackets).
I had been originally asking about a cafe-racer styled jacket, and he showed me a stack of horsehide he'd use for it, ranging in thickness from 1.2 to 1.6mm in thickness, something that immediately piqued my interest, since I couldn't get that at Five Star. t was black and looked sufficiently grainy. He also had shearling, cowhide, steer, goat, and many others. It appeared basically any custom jacket was possible if I wanted. He said a 1.6 mm horsehide cafe racer would cost me 230 USD shipped, which seemed more than reasonable.
I'm new to the custom jacket game, and at that time, was waiting on 2 jackets to arrive in the mail with sizing I'd basically guessed at. I wanted to be sure about sizing before ordering, so I delayed making an order with him. In the meantime, he chatted with me regularly on WhatsApp, sharing pictures of projects he was working on.
Around Christmastime, he contacted with an urgent request. His Etsy store was shut down. Pakistan is severely restrictive in allowing its citizens to trade goods, so things we take for granted like eBay, Amazon, etc., are off-limits to their citizens. In a recent move, Etsy was also barred to him. Etsy was his only way of reaching beyond his border to sell his stuff. He asked me if I might do him a favour and establish an Etsy store for him where I live (Canada) so that he can continue his business.
Around this time, my family was isolating due to a Covid infection, and it was Christmas besides, so I did nothing about it. But in that time, my wife put her foot down with a firm "no" on the idea, and fair enough. And also I don't know anything about setting up an Etsy store as a "proxy" seller, so I decided against it personally. Maybe it's totally easy with no risks to me, I don't know. But I'm not savvy with this stuff at all, so I decided I'd better leave it alone.
Hammad is desperate though, and he asked me if I know a friend or anyone else that can help him, he'd massively appreciate it. Full disclosure, he told me if I succeed and find someone in North America to set up his store, he'd make me that horsehide jacket I asked him about for free, which obviously excited and motivated me. I know that he'd come to some kind of arrangement as well with anyone who helps him set up an Etsy store.
So all this is a long-winded request for anyone who might have interest in helping Hammad set up a store on Etsy in North America. If you google his Etsy name (ZillLeather) you'll see where his store used to be. There's some archived photos on the net too (zillleathers etsy - Google Search) to see the offerings he's capable of. He'd gladly send you hundreds of other completed jackets he's made as well.
He seems like an eager young guy with talent, good products and pricing. I don't understand why Pakistan prevents people there from selling online, for many it's their only way to market their products. I'd like to see him succeed - not only to get a free jacket, but because I'd order more from him, and I think he deserves a chance to try.
If anyone is interested, I have his WhatsApp contact info, and I'm sure he'd be proud to show anyone around his shop with a videochat like he did with me. His English is poor but serviceable.
Thanks for any consideration.
In August, 2021, I was looking for leather jackets on Etsy, and stumbled across a vendor who appeared to have some really awesome stuff. ZillLeather, it was called.
The storefront reminded me a lot of Five Star. Many pictures of great-looking custom-made jackets. Many kinds of available leathers, colours, custom offerings for both design and sizing advertised. The prices also looked good. So, I contacted.
I was surprised at how quickly my questions were responded to. The owner of the store, Hammad, invited me to chat on WhatsApp, which I did. I quickly learned that he was the operator of a small leather goods company in Pakistan, comprising himself and 3 other workers. He's a young man, early 20's, trying to get a foothold in the garment-making business. He was hungry for more sales and eager to show me what he could do, and to hopefully spread the word about his products. The back and forth eventually wound up as a video chat, which I found both interesting and exciting. He walked me around his small facility, showing me stacks of leather he uses for jackets, the colours, types, jackets in various stages of production, his team (he passed the camera over his team - three women were seated at sewing machines making jackets. I was surprised to realize it was midnight, their local time, and they were at his little factory making jackets).
I had been originally asking about a cafe-racer styled jacket, and he showed me a stack of horsehide he'd use for it, ranging in thickness from 1.2 to 1.6mm in thickness, something that immediately piqued my interest, since I couldn't get that at Five Star. t was black and looked sufficiently grainy. He also had shearling, cowhide, steer, goat, and many others. It appeared basically any custom jacket was possible if I wanted. He said a 1.6 mm horsehide cafe racer would cost me 230 USD shipped, which seemed more than reasonable.
I'm new to the custom jacket game, and at that time, was waiting on 2 jackets to arrive in the mail with sizing I'd basically guessed at. I wanted to be sure about sizing before ordering, so I delayed making an order with him. In the meantime, he chatted with me regularly on WhatsApp, sharing pictures of projects he was working on.
Around Christmastime, he contacted with an urgent request. His Etsy store was shut down. Pakistan is severely restrictive in allowing its citizens to trade goods, so things we take for granted like eBay, Amazon, etc., are off-limits to their citizens. In a recent move, Etsy was also barred to him. Etsy was his only way of reaching beyond his border to sell his stuff. He asked me if I might do him a favour and establish an Etsy store for him where I live (Canada) so that he can continue his business.
Around this time, my family was isolating due to a Covid infection, and it was Christmas besides, so I did nothing about it. But in that time, my wife put her foot down with a firm "no" on the idea, and fair enough. And also I don't know anything about setting up an Etsy store as a "proxy" seller, so I decided against it personally. Maybe it's totally easy with no risks to me, I don't know. But I'm not savvy with this stuff at all, so I decided I'd better leave it alone.
Hammad is desperate though, and he asked me if I know a friend or anyone else that can help him, he'd massively appreciate it. Full disclosure, he told me if I succeed and find someone in North America to set up his store, he'd make me that horsehide jacket I asked him about for free, which obviously excited and motivated me. I know that he'd come to some kind of arrangement as well with anyone who helps him set up an Etsy store.
So all this is a long-winded request for anyone who might have interest in helping Hammad set up a store on Etsy in North America. If you google his Etsy name (ZillLeather) you'll see where his store used to be. There's some archived photos on the net too (zillleathers etsy - Google Search) to see the offerings he's capable of. He'd gladly send you hundreds of other completed jackets he's made as well.
He seems like an eager young guy with talent, good products and pricing. I don't understand why Pakistan prevents people there from selling online, for many it's their only way to market their products. I'd like to see him succeed - not only to get a free jacket, but because I'd order more from him, and I think he deserves a chance to try.
If anyone is interested, I have his WhatsApp contact info, and I'm sure he'd be proud to show anyone around his shop with a videochat like he did with me. His English is poor but serviceable.
Thanks for any consideration.
