Mission
Our mission is to inspire by innovative collaborations and therefore empower people to make and use more meaningful and responsible leather products.
Vision
We change the perception of the leather craftsmanship by standing for full transparency through openness in local craftsmanship, reliability through sustainable quality (lifelong guarantee) and full freedom when it comes to creation and inspiration.
Slogan – HOME OF LEATHER GOODS.
“A new benchmark for the art of contemporary leather goods.”
Laauw has been developed in honor of its roots, the heart of the leather industry. Laauw is changing the perception of the leather craftsmanship. In partnership with local craftsmen and innovative leather laboratories, Laauw brings the values behind traditional leather craftsmanship to the 21st century.
From that stems the catch phrase “Home of leather goods”, the place where the origin lies. Far away from the busy running fashion capitals, back to basics in search of timeless craft. Talent and ambition are everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you from, as long as you stay close to yourself.
Where it all started
Founder and owner Rob van Ravenstein started the brand Laauw in 2016 together with 2 good friends, Dorus & Joep. The brand originated from a deep-rooted passion for creating, for making beautiful qualitative and honest products. This in combination with the love for the local and age-old tradition of the leather craftsmanship. A love that runs in the family, so that Rob developed his passion at an early age through his grandfather who was a craftsman in this industry.
The brand follows the family
Where the grandfathers belong to the founders of local leather craftsmanship, grandsons Rob and Rens are the pioneers who keep the family’s passion alive and take the values of this tradition with them wherever their journey takes them. Two second cousins, with a shared passion, who gave the Laauw brand new energy in 2022 and prepared it for international growth. A step to the US, where Rens has established himself for years already and where the brand follows him.
Identity – pioneers in leather goods
The name ‘Laauw’ is a reference to the Dutch word ‘lauw’. Not warm, not cold, but in between. It is a healthy dose of nonchalance, with the intention of staying close to yourself. Being able and allowed to feel good everywhere. This ensures an open view of the world where opportunities win from obstacles. The extra ‘a’ in the name stands for being different, for daring to pioneer. Because that is what we do at Laauw, we pioneer. We are the pioneers in the field of leather bags and accessories. Characteristic for the design of Laauw are the clean lines, a minimalist look, but with an eye for detail.
Made in Holland – local craftsmanship
Laauw stands for local craftsmanship, durability and quality. From the very beginning, we have therefore worked with our own factory, located in the heart of this industry, Waalwijk. We want to change the consumer society. We want to show you the value of minimalism by making products that last for generations. We choose the best and therefore lifelong quality, both in the materials and the craftsmanship, which allows us to offer our customers a lifelong guarantee. We don’t work with suppliers, but we made them partners. Our brand exists because we work with the best local professionals. We believe that these people are also entitled to a piece of Laauw, so they became our partners in stead of our suppliers.
Our products are timeless and will become more beautiful every year. The same goes for our collections, they are made with love and every design deserves the time to find a user. We want to stay away from the hectic “fast-fashion” world, and choose for a sustainable “slow-fashion” world. We only work with limited stocks, so we never have “leftover” stock and keep our production sustainable.
The best in leather goods – Home of leather goods
We believe that we owe it to our customers to be the best in our field. By remaining constantly innovative, we try to positively influence the future of our craft. Through our years of experience and knowledge in the field of leather products, we can achieve this. We only work with the best materials and only vegetable tanned, so that we can guarantee quality and a lifelong guarantee to our customers. We work with our own factory in our own region, Waalwijk, so that we can achieve full transparency. We share everything with our customers and see this as the future way of working. We call it radical transparency.
Reliability by being 100% transparent
We believe that our customers have the right to know the true cost of their purchase. We reveal all the costs behind our products, from materials to labour, from partners to transport. This way, our customers know what they are paying for and what it is worth. We believe that openness will create a healthy working environment. Ultimately, every link in the chain has a right to the same amount. We see that traditional retail often still works with a margin of 5 to 6 times the cost price. We choose to work with a margin of 2 to 3. Why? Because everyone is entitled to the same amount.
We have divided our supply chain into 4 parts that we will explain in more detail; materials, labour, laauw & partners & and logistics. Our main material is the vegetable tanned leather. We choose responsible materials and the best quality over profit, because we stand for durability. Next to the material is our production proces an important key in our supply chain. We work with the best craftsmen to control our quality and provide a lifelong guarantee. The part in the supply chain for our company Laauw & partners is the one which ensures that we are constantly innovative and try to positively influence the future of our craft. Next to that it covers our costs for our employees, our marketing activities and our housing. The logistics part in the supply chain ensures that the process from ordering, to making, to delivery runs smoothly.