Bill Amberg Studio: Pioneering Leathercraft for 40 Years
people • interior designer
A true innovator in leather design, Bill Amberg Studio has spent four decades redefining the material’s possibilities—crafting bespoke interiors, furniture, and accessories with an artisanal edge. The studio brings together saddlery, bookbinding, and fine leathercraft traditions, all while upholding the industry's highest ethical and sustainability standards.
From the iconic Rocket Bag, housed in the V&A and The Met, to custom furniture and interiors for Sir David Chipperfield, Veere Grenney, and Amin Taha, their work seamlessly blends craftsmanship with contemporary design. Their portfolio spans luxury retail (Harrods Fine Watch Room), cultural landmarks (Westminster Abbey, the Royal Academy of Arts), and private residences, cementing their reputation as leaders in leather innovation.
WEBSITE: www.billamberg.com INSTAGRAM: @billambergstudio
Words: designeers
FEBRUARY 2025
DESIGNEERS
Describe what you make?
Bill AmberG
We are a bespoke design studio specialising in leatherwork for interiors, products, and architecture. Collaborating with architects, interior designers, and private clients, we design, develop, and craft exquisite objects and installations for homes, businesses, and some of the world’s most beautiful bars and restaurants.
DESIGNEERS
What inspires your creative process?
Bill AmberG
Leather is an extraordinary, ancient material with a rich variety of techniques and applications to draw from; bookbinding, shoemaking, garments, saddlery, upholstery, and industry. We mash-up these ideas and reimagine them using modern techniques, transforming leather into a remarkable contemporary material.
DESIGNEERS
The most important thing you’ve designed to date?
Bill AmberG
I’m always excited about the next project; we have some really inspiring work in the pipeline that everybody in the studio is looking forward to.
DESIGNEERS
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you?
Bill AmberG
The workshop is central to how the studio works, where craftspeople work in close coordination with designers to develop new projects. There is a constant back-and-forth process of prototyping and creating.
“I’m lucky that my career started as my hobby and has grown to be my passion. All my activities at home—whether it’s my house, my family, my garden, or my machines—are interconnected.”
Bill AmberG
DESIGNEERS
What constitutes great design?
Bill AmberG
Refined, detailed, human pieces created using timeless materials and craftsmanship.
DESIGNEERS
What do you do when you’re not working?
Bill AmberG
I’m lucky that my career started as my hobby and has grown to be my passion. All my activities at home—whether it’s my house, my family, my garden, or my machines—are interconnected.
DESIGNEERS
On your coffee table right now:
Bill AmberG
I have just received Elizabeth Roberts Architecture book, Collected Stories, which has a wonderful narrative of how her role in a building’s past, present and future, is a beautiful fleeting moment in its history .
DESIGNEERS
Favourite hotel in the world?
Bill AmberG
Claridge’s, one of the world's best hotels for old fashioned glamour.
DESIGNEERS
Design hero:
Bill AmberG
Sōri Yanagi has always been an inspiration. His father, Sōetsu Yanagi, wrote the Unknown Craftsman and also created the Mingei Movement and its museum in Tokyo, where I always go when I’m there.
