Da Nang now has over 10 shops selling handmade leather items such as wallets, bags, watch straps and phone cases.

An Ton making a leather item

The shops include San Handmade, Lee.H Leather, Sosatha Handmade Leather, Cloudy Store, and Anton Leather, and the majority of them are owned by local young people who make leather products.

28-year-old Vo Nhu Anh - the owner of Cloudy Store on 137 Huynh Thuc Khang in Hai Chau District, is a typical example.  Several years ago, he wanted to buy a men's leather wallet but it was difficult to find such an item in Da Nang.  As a result, he decided to follow the instructions shown on a video clip on the Internet and make one himself.  He then realised that he had a great passion for handmade leather products, and decided to leave his exisiting job as a credit officer at a local bank and start up his own business making such items for sale.

To date, Anh has designed and made many leather products to meet the diversified demands of local customers.  He often dyes the leather with impressive colours, and carves vivid patterns into the material in order to create his own eye-catching items. 

29-year-old Nguyen An Ton who runs the Anton Leather shop on 52A Nguyen Chi Thanh in Hai Chau District is another example.  His shop offers various types of handmade leather products for both men and women, including wallets and bags.  The majority of his items boast sophisticated and eye-catching designs.

An Ton remarked, “In attempting to create impressive leather products for customers, producers are required to use good materials and specialised tools, as well as to have intuitive sense and professional experience”.

His products are now attracting a great deal of attention from both local residents and visitors to the city.  Best-selling items are women’s bags which have simple and elegant designs at reasonable prices.