Fernweh UK | Laura Sherriffs handcrafted bags & leather goods

A wee re-introduction for a new year. ✨ Welcome to my wee creative space here on the internet, designing and crafting bags inspired by my love of the Scottish landscape where I live. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 I love sewing and working with my hands, there’s a huge catharsis in the process. I’m so passionate about making bags and choosing natural, quality, hardwearing materials and crafting bags full of character and story. I’m hoping to show up a here a lot more authentically as I take my small creative business into 2026. Expect a lot of changes as I redefine and realign my wee business with my priorities in life after facing loss. I’ve been really loving these wee authentic introduction posts, this is inspired by @_laura.lives and @printcessmeg recent posts. Thanks for being here ☺️❤️

As we begin a new year with a blank page ahead, can I tell you a story? 🧵🪡📚 A story of a girl who accidentally stumbled into finding her calling, making things with her hands and finding joy in the process. There’s a lot of new faces here, but whether you’ve just joined, or if you’ve been here since the beginning, let’s get reflective and go back to the beginning… 🧵🪡✨ #bagmaker #madeinscotland #craft

When I started my handcrafted bagmaking business, I heard some of these statements repeatedly. That I needed to use cheaper materials to be competitive. That slow fashion wouldn’t scale. That making in house wasn’t possible. And honestly? Sometimes I still question it. The path is infinitely harder and in a world that’s choking on mass produced, poor quality fashion, it’s sometimes hard to feel like I’m making a difference. But I wanted to build something crafted by hand, that values connection, to maker, to place, to material. Something that will stay with us for years to come, and become a part of our stories. I didn’t start Fernweh to be to make millions and have private yachts. 
I started it to be intentional. To choose something slower in a world that seems to celebrate that fast paced churn. Choosing slow fashion means choosing patience. 
It means saying no to shortcuts that would make things easier or more profitable. But it also means knowing exactly how each piece is made, who made it, and why it exists. That there is a place for a slower, fairer fashion industry, where craft is valued. Shout out to all those building something the hard way — I see you. 🤍 #smallbusinessjourney #makersofinstagram #slowfashion #builtbyhand

Thank you so much to everyone who visited my wee creative bagmaking studio this weekend as part of the @deemouthartiststudios Open Studios Market 🪡🧵✨ As always it’s such a pleasure to invite people into my wee creative space, and show you where I design, pattern cut and sew every single one of my bags ☺️ It was so lovely chatting to you all, and showing the projects I’ve been working on - and thanks to everyone who enjoyed my wee fabric de-stash too, I can’t wait to see what you all make with your new materials! I’m off on annual leave now until 25th May, so naturally today in between studio visitors I’ve been sewing up a new skirt for my family holiday 😅 My website will still be open while I’m away, there might just be a delay in shipping til I’m back, if you are looking for some handcrafted bags for your adventures! Once I’m back I’m hoping to get some workshops for over the summer scheduled in, so make sure you are on my mailing list to be the first to know about those! Thanks for the love on my “me made” outfit too, wearing my @merchantandmills Sidney jumper in a gorgeous @merchantandmills cotton jacquard - in my spare time I’m enjoying finding my love for sewing my own clothes again 💚 As always though, a huge thank you for the support. 🫶 it’s been a tough couple of years for me, but these events are such a wonderful reminder of why I love what I do, creating and connecting with people 🥰

A beautiful setting for a lovely day of visible mending workshops - coinciding neatly with the start of Mend it May! I had a lovely time teaching my students how to use patching creatively, using bits of scrap fabrics and some simple stitching techniques. Everyone went away with new skills and hopefully some confidence in how to repair their clothes in a fun visual way! ☺️ The workshop space at @curatedaberdeen is really the perfect spot for workshops, it’s inviting, with space for samples and even for showcasing work on the walls, it’s a really amazing spot. Workshops run Fridays & Saturdays by local creatives and are part funded by @editaberdeen to make them accessible to the public, while ensuring the artist gets paid fairly. A two hour creative workshop and learning a new skill for just over the price of a coffee, it’s so fab! There’s a full programme of events on over the next few weeks, be sure to get involved with this fab offering, and let me know if you want to see more mending dates over the summer 🧵🪡 #visiblemending #whatsonaberdeen

Friday 1st May and Saturday 2nd Workshops Booking Link in Bio

Happy Earth Day 🌱 🌍✨ This is the perfect day to pop on and let you know that if you want to be a little bit more sustainable, then making your wardrobe last a bit longer is a great, free and easy way to start! We consume so much clothing, and the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries on the planet. By making our clothes last that bit longer, we help to curb consumption, and create clothes that we connect to. Clothes should be lived in and full of memories, repaired and repaired until they have lived a life. Mending is such a valuable skill in helping your clothes last longer and I’m delighted that I’m hosting a Visible Mending workshop at the new @curatedaberdeen space on May 1st. There are two sessions available and I’ll be showing you how to use creative patching, and simple stitch techniques to mend holes, cover stains and breathe new life into your wardobe! I hope you can join me, the booking link is in my bio 🔗 #earthday #visiblemending

This backpack was inspired by a whisky distillery 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🥃🎒 I’ve just downed tools, switched off the sewing machines and finished my latest restock of my collaborative backpack with @tomatinwhisky This was a dream - or is it maybe dram! 😅🤭 - project that began in 2023, and I’m so delighted that it’s been such a well received bag at the distillery shop that’s continued to restock it year after year. I love storytelling through design and this project was such a wonderful way to tell the story of the distillery, adding small nods and secrets to its history, and of course paying homage to the uisge beatha itself 🥃 The colours are inspired by the maturing colours of the single malt, and the navy blue paying homage to the humble juniper berry, as juniper bushes surround the landscape around the site. “Tomatin” means “hill of the juniper bush” in Gaelic. One of the main design details is the quilted back panel, which takes its inspiration from the rolling hills around the distillery. My favourite details are that it had to be able to carry a bottle of Tomatin in the side pocket - for those mid hike drams! - and the secret “copper dog” pocket, inspired by the distillery workers of old, who’d use copper pipes to steal some illicit whisky after a shift! If you want to know more, im going to share more of the research and design process from this backpack in the next post, there’s so much work that goes into designing a new product, and I can’t wait to share the process with you. Slàinte mhath! 🥃

Still here, still sewing, but slower than I have been. Running a small handcrafted business while grieving hasn’t been easy, it’s genuinely been one of the hardest things I’ve experienced. Since losing my dad last year, it’s slowed me down even more than I expected. Grief has no timeline, and I’m beginning to realise this is a lifelong process, one that has forever changed me, and in turn my creative practice and outlook. As a small business owner, and creative, my personal life inherently affects my business. To me, that’s one of the joys of supporting creatives and micro businesses, getting to know where your art and products are made and knowing the maker and stories behind them. I believe life has seasons to its pace, and although spring is blooming around us, I’m deep in a winter season, and that means so is my business. I’m currently I’m still making things — just more quietly and at my own pace, while I figure out what’s manageable. For me, right now I’m not chasing growth or huge changes. I’m hunkered down, in survival mode, focussing on keeping the lights on while I process these huge life changes. I have no idea when I’ll find this “new normal”, but I know that creativity will be at the heart of it. Thank you for sticking around and supporting my handcrafted work, even if I’m not posting a lot right now. It truly means more than you know. #bagmaking #smallbusiness

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the studio as I work on a restock of my collaborative backpack with the @tomatinwhisky distillery. 🎒🥃🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 These are such fun packs to make, super labour intensive and full of hardware and little details that pay homage to the distillery, and the landscape it’s nestled between. My favourite detail is the quilted back support panel, quilted in the shape of the rolling hills that surround the distillery. From a side pocket specifically designed to hold a bottle of the 12 year old single malt, to the secret “copper dog” pocket, I love being able to tell a story through a design, and this has been one of my favourite recent projects. Really love the response to this backpack, and I’m delighted that it’s been so well received by so many! #sewing #bagmaking #madeinscotland

Every single one of my bags, is designed, cut and sewn by me, in my studio in Aberdeen. One pair of hands, doing every single process, from design sketches, prototyping, to sewing, photographing and listing online, to final packing and posting. In a world full of AI, and fast paced consumerism, I think it’s really special to slow down, take time to connect with materials and maker, and have something that’s crafted especially for you. #bagmaking #madeinscotland #sewing

A special commission to start the year 🪡🖤🩶 The colours in the studio have been mimicking the grey skies of the North East weather this week, for my first commission of the year. I was delighted to make this custom version of the Rannoch Tote, in a Basalt/Scree colour combo and it’s given me some new admiration for the sombre skies and seemingly endless grey. The Rannoch is a tote not currently in my collection, as I had a few tweaks I wanted to make to the design, and this commission allowed me to do just that. Full oak bark tanned carry handles and a zip top to be worn as a shoulder tote, or the option of a detachable leather strap to wear cross body. Complete with a hidden back zip pocket. Made from Scottish waxed cotton, and lined in a dry finish waxed cotton, with leather from the UK’s last oak bark tannery. Maybe the Rannoch needs to make a comeback? #bagmaker #madeinscotland