Interview: Designer Bill Amberg

Bill Amberg was born into leather. Raised in Northampton – the centre of the British shoemaking industry – he was surrounded by the material throughout his childhood. His mother, an architect with a love of crafting, would pick up cobblers’ offcuts and scraps for him to practice on, so he became accustomed to handling knives, awls and needles from a young age.

The Bill Amberg Studio came formally into being in 1984. In the years that followed, Bill’s work in architecture and interiors grew in parallel with his bag design, eventually becoming the bulk of his business.

The Studio is now a global authority on architectural leatherwork, offering a full cycle of services relating to the integration of leather into interior spaces. Bill is a board member and trustee of Cockpit Arts and the National Leather Collection, an honorary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers, and has honorary doctorates from UAL and the University of Northampton. He is involved in a host of mentor and social enterprises across the craft sphere.

The Bill Amberg name stands as a badge of quality and craftsmanship around the world. Bill’s iconic ‘Rocket Bag’ is included in the permanent collection of London’s V&A and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. To learn more about Bill Amberg and the Studio please visit: https://www.billamberg.com/ 

For more on the Moore & Giles X Bill Amberg Collection please visit: https://www.mooreandgiles.com/leather/bill-amberg/