J. K. M. Leathers

We are located over at 4, Vasantha Garden Street in Ayanavaram. If you know the area, you know it is a mix of old houses and small workshops. J. K. M. Leathers has been operating out of this spot for a good while. The street is quite narrow, and when it rains in Chennai, the water tends to collect a bit near the entrance. Inside the building, you can usually smell the leather as soon as you walk in. It’s a very specific scent that stays on your clothes. We have a small group of people working here, mostly just local folks from the neighborhood. There isn’t a lot of space for extra stuff, so every corner is filled with samples or tools. We spend a lot of time checking the quality of the hides and making sure everything is sorted correctly. It’s not a fancy showroom with lights and mirrors. It is more of a place where actual work happens on the tables. Sometimes the ceiling fan makes a clicking noise, but we’ve grown used to it over the years. We usually have the radio playing in the background while we work through the pile of orders. Even when the power goes out, which happens sometimes in this part of town, we just open the windows and keep going as long as there is light. Most of the people who come here are looking for specific skins. It’s an old-fashioned way of doing things, but it works for us on Vasantha Garden Street.