November 03, 2021

Mr. Anton, Solingen is known for its knives. How did you become a producer of high-quality leather goods?

My parents founded the business in 1968, a year before I was born, so I grew up with this craft and the production of high-quality leather goods. The workrooms were my home and playground. I helped with light work from an early age. However, my interests took a different direction after school. I trained as an electrician. During my further training to become a master craftsman, I again helped out in my parents' business and became increasingly interested in and enjoyed making high-quality leather goods. In the end, I decided to stick with it and today I enjoy working with the truly beautiful material "leather".

Your family business is now almost in its 3rd generation. What has changed in your company and the leather trade in recent years?

Today, it is no longer the masses that count, but the handcrafted product in small series. The challenge has become greater in terms of quality and inventiveness. We now produce a much wider range of high-quality leather goods and accessories.

What does "Made in Germany" mean to you and what is special about it?

Germany as a production location stands for high-quality, carefully crafted products that are produced under fair working conditions. We are close to our customers and can respond to individual wishes. Short transportation routes and sustainable production speak for "Made in Germany". You are a good example with your GOOD WILHELM label and your high-quality leather goods made from fine vachetta leather. We enjoy working with customers like you because we share the same philosophy.

No, trained fine bag makers for high-quality leather goods are almost impossible to find today. The range of vocational training courses for fine bag makers has been rigorously cut back. Our last apprentice was in a vocational school class with shoemakers and bookbinders. In total, they were 8 apprentices for the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia. Today, we train our employees ourselves to meet our needs. They need fine motor skills, manual dexterity and a good imagination for the end product of our high-quality leather goods.

It's is like a good meal. It's all about the ingredients - good Western European raw materials, sustainable tanning, first-class accessories and the whole thing finished with great attention to detail. Your products from GOOD WILHELM are a great example of high-quality leather goods with first-class leather and stainless steel hardware. Something like this has become rare in Germany. We think it's great that you also support sustainable environmental projects with your LET'S DO GOOD projects.

Unfortunately, consumers' knowledge of leather has generally declined. Consumers often no longer even know what real leather is. Many supposedly "high-quality leather goods" are coated with a PU coating that hides the natural grain pattern. Then you might as well use artificial leather, right?
And so the end consumer is often unable to tell whether they are buying good quality with the brand. The big brands do not necessarily mean good quality. However, we also encounter customers who have a great understanding and love of craftsmanship and are willing to pay for it. We can only advise the user to find out how the leather was tanned, where the leather comes from and where the products were made. This is the only way to recognize high-quality leather goods

I take a positive view of the future of our company, as we can respond to individual customer wishes, are very broadly based and flexible. We take our responsibility towards our employees very seriously. We are a family business and therefore have very close ties with our employees.

Cows don't sleep in bed. Small bumps or scars on the skin are characteristics of nature and tell stories of the cattle chafing on the pasture to the rattling of the hide on the thorn bush. This brings the leather to life and is not a flaw. For me, leather that has no scars is almost boring.

My favorite leather accessory is definitely my belt. It has been with me for a very long time and is made from first-class, vegetable-tanned leather. We go through thick and thin together. 😉
My favorite piece from GOOD WILHELM is definitely the EMIL key case. The fact that you can store up to 10 keys in such a small space is sensational. The Swiss Army Knife does it justice.