Heidi Mottram talks about her work.

"My collection is inspired by the natural world, focusing on flowing lines and textures enhanced by the tactile nature of eel skin leathers but with a modern twist, with a signature hot fuchsia pink zip. Eel skin products are traditionally smooth and linear due to the natural pattern and construction of the skin, but I am now starting to manipulate the skins to create more organic structures and textures.  The brand is starting to be widely recognized on the worldwide fashion scene, with stockists in London, Paris, Spain, LA, Tokyo, Germany and Greece.

I work solely with eel skin because I am inspired by its wonderful texture and unique definition, especially when compared to ordinary, everyday cowhide. It is feather light and becomes softer and suppler with use and is also a bi-product meaning that the eels were not killed for their skin. It is the combination of these qualities that makes eel skin such a valuable alternative to other luxury leather products in the same market.
Variations in color and other markings capture the natural beauty of the eel, making each eel skin accessory distinctive and one-of-a-kind. In addition, should it get wet, eel skin does not change texture or watermark unlike traditional leather - making it the ideal material for the British weather.  Eel skin is amazingly durable, being 150% stronger than cowhide of the same thickness, making it a long-lasting material for everyday use.

I was born in Cheshire, England, UK. From as far back as I can remember I loved making things, drawing and painting. If anything or anyone stood still long enough they ran the risk of me drawing them or on them! This love of art remained throughout my school life and after my A-levels I decided to move to London to complete a foundation course at the London College of Fashion after which I went on to complete a degree in textiles at Central St Martins College of Art and Design. It was soon after my degree and working as a pr junior that I set up my own business originally painting and designing and making one-off corsets. It was whilst traveling looking for inspiration and materials that I happened upon eel skin. I knew about the material as my mother had a purse made from it when I was little. I loved it! I decided that I had to work with this material. Initially I made corsets from it but then embarked on a pattern cutting course for accessories and decided to travel down the bag and purse route which I really enjoy! I now focus on the eel skin bags and purses and went Ltd at the end of 2007. It is an amazing material and I get to do what I love which is design.

For my previous collection I had sent off my designs for sampling. Unfortunately an old random doodled bag sketch had been included into the files that I had sent. When I received my samples I also received a sample of my unusual sketch. The bag had been doodled one day whilst I was on the phone and was not a serious drawing. I ended up with a very strange alien looking that had been copied perfectly from my scribbles! The panic suddenly set in that I was going to receive stock of this bizarre bag! I instantly picked up the phone to put a halt to this. This is not quite a nightmare but the sudden panic that ran through will not be forgotten!

The greatest achievements include happy customers who tell me that they love my bags and also being awarded the impressive accolade of ‘Business of the Year’ from Newham College for my outstanding and inspirational work with eel ski."