Leather handbags and accessories originating in Siberia

In the age of plastics, synthetics and chemistry, we miss things that have a soul.

Leather goods of this Omsk brand can be seen in the hands of show business stars and owners of large corporations, as well as in Duty Free stores. Read about the future expectations of brand, continuity of generations and love for native Siberia in an interview with Dmitry Marchevskiy, owner of the company “Siberian goods”.

Dmitry, you are positioning your business as a young brand of hand-made leather goods from Omsk, and the name of the company reflected their territorial belonging, Siberia. Are you not afraid to seem a provincial with ambitions? Or is your true patriotism “encrypted” in it?

Siberia is a special place, it always causes respect in people, whether it is a resident of central Russia or a foreigner. And we are not shy about our provincial nature, we are proud that we are Siberians: those living here have their own character, their own backbone. Many believe that this is a place of serious trials and transformations where it is understood what the mutual aid is. Perhaps this balance of kindness and humanity that people from Siberia have, lacks in those who are not here.

The Northmen, Caucasians, Uralians, Far Easterners have their own special traits of character, everyone has something unique and this is what needs to be developed and promoted.

We knowingly integrated the name of our region into the brand, so that every person who wanted to have our accessories would have a reminder of this identity and community which lies somewhere in the depths of his soul.

Leather working is traditional for Siberian people from time immemorial. There is something  strong, harsh and even, in a buzzword, brutal in it. And, at the same time, warm, soft and just some kind of native. Do the articles from the “Siberian goods” assortment reflect all these qualities?

Now in the age of plastics, synthetics and chemistry, we miss things that have a soul. And the soul is in the history, in the energy that is passed down through generations by inheritance. Therefore, the leather we use has the effect of noble aging, and in the wearing the item looks like passed through the time. Having worn two or three years, let’s suppose, our wallet, a person may have a feeling that his grandfather wore this wallet and at the same time it will look very cool.

We are not chasing “trends”, but trying to be conservative by making the items that will never go out of fashion. In addition, “Siberian Goods” provides a warranty for its products and long-term service.

Sooner or later we will expand into other additional areas, such as men’s outerwear.

Planning to expand production, how do you evaluate the conditions for business development in a city like Omsk? How difficult is the fight for the consumer today, provided that this segment of the market is quite specific and tight?

If there is competition in the market, then sooner or later the buyer will get a good product. We leave the retail market in order not to interfere with our competitors, which are very numerous, including in Omsk. Basically, now there is a great development in this area. This can be seen by suppliers who say that in our city the demand for leather has increased many times. But it even pleases me, because I always said that Omsk is the cultural capital of Siberia, so there must be talented people here. If they appear and make some good quality items, that’s great!

We have our own way, and our ambitions allow us to observe calmly the growth of talented guys. If we stay in Omsk for another five or ten years, perhaps these guys will become the part of our team. So let them train now, get bumps and bruises and learn, and when the time comes, and they stay in this business, I am sure that there will be a place for them in our company.

Is there a niche in modern conveyor world for manual production, moreover, for profitable production? If it’s not a secret, who are your customers?

We make our products manually, but on an industrial scale. And our customers are all those who like the products of “Siberian goods”.

First of all, we are focused on corporate clients. Of course, the company produces for a retail segment, but not in such volumes. We have already gone the other way: not from the bottom of the market, but from the top, and we succeeded it miraculously. I believe that we are on the right path, and we do not want to leave this path.

If you want to know about particular personalities, we can be proud that we make a unique bag and travel kit for Sergey Shnurov. Also, we have recently completed the order for Alexander Revva for some items with his personal family crest.

Since our brand is the face of the Siberian region, we provided gifts from “Siberian goods” for the guests of the XVI Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan, which was held in Omsk in November 2019.

Where does the raw material and accessories come from? What quality standards determine the supplier’s choice?

The company works to make a product that people will use every day and that should always please them. Therefore, we don’t save on quality. I personally selected suppliers for leather, threads and accessories, went on business trips, examined warehouses, got acquainted with the staff of employees, because I had to be sure that they would not fail.

Since many corporate customers care about the speed and full identity of products in everything, I have been looking for reliable suppliers who can bring us everything we need for production in the shortest time possible. Now we have excellent suppliers who provide Italian leather, threads and accessories of the highest quality. And we declare with confidence that in the shortest time possible we will make an excellent product for our corporate clients, because in working with them the most important thing is the speed and quality. In all our time working with customers, no matter how strict the requirements, we did not break any delivery time. That is very important and valuable to us.

Have you ever created such masterpieces accessories to order, with which you then were sorry to part with? Things you would proudly take into your professional portfolio?

Everything we do makes me proud. But since I love football very much, this accessory for me is a football ball. The first ball we sewed is still with us, we didn’t part with it. By the way, 2018 has become cult for us, because the World Cup was held in Russia. We sewed a large quantity of football balls, and, as a symbol, large companies were happy to give them to their partners.

You are creating products for those who value good staffs. What is your confidence in creative and professional abilities based on?

I’m doing everything to make the company grow. Today my task is to make the international company. I gathered a good team of real professionals, people who are fans of the brand “Siberian goods”. My company is a family where every member has own prospects. In the future, I see my employees as potential managers of different branches of our business.

As for my confidence in creative and professional abilities, it certainly exists. And this is the merit of all those around me.

I should probably have started the interview with the words “I thank the Lord God and my family for what I have now”. By the way, it surprised me that people say it on the performances everywhere except Russia, and we don’t even think about it. And why not adopt this example? You should not be shy to love and talk about it. Agree, if everyone starts saying such words, the next generation will start thinking about the right values.

I mean, is the topic of continuity of generations relevant for you?

Yes, it worries me. It seems to me that it disappeared someway. Back in the old days in the courtyards there were always older guys who taught us what’s good and what’s bad, and demonstrated it with their men’s acts. Now, unfortunately, this maximum is expressed by “ostentation” in social networks: he says, look how successful he is. And the person who watches it and understands that he does not have it himself, then the complexes appear, because of which he begins to prove something, tries to carve out… And the chain reaction has begun which leads to that today we have a generation of people that have knowledge in blogging, but not a lot in terms of life.

I believe that people born in Siberia should be united by the pride that they are Siberians. Perhaps now there is a lack of training of that part of youth in which consciousness is formed. We should teach them to respect themselves for the fact that they were born here, and to show them such qualities that will characterize the Siberians: honesty, justice, solidarity, love, courage for men, compassion for women, after all, we already have it.

If the youth appreciates it in itself, then it will be formed a certain pocket, in which it will be possible to get into and grope this backbone in a difficult moment. It will help them, and they will not act differently: perhaps they will help grandma cross the road and smile at the little girl who cries. It will be cool and become a tradition that will begin to be passed, resulting in a very strong community.

Returning to the theme of patriotism and love for the native land, I would like to say that “Siberian goods” is a company that speaks for all of us, and every Omsk resident, every Siberian can be proud of its success. It’s a mechanism that is launched and it will live.