THE MAKER
Young · Maker · Designer · Teacher
Creativity was part of my life long before I ever picked up a piece of leather.
I grew up as the youngest of six children, surrounded by a family that appreciated style, music, and making things by hand. My mother crocheted, knitted, and made clothes for us by hand, and she was also a talented singer. I grew up watching creativity take many forms in our home — sometimes through the things she made for us, and sometimes through her music.
Some of my clearest childhood memories are of watching her perform in our town’s annual singing competition while I played nearby with my friends. At home, I also saw the quieter side of creativity: the patience and care involved in making something by hand.
AN EARLY INFLUENCE
Her handwork taught me the beauty of making. Her music showed me the value of expressing something that is uniquely your own.
THE PRACTICE
When I moved to the United States with my family, I continued my education in art and technology. Starting a life in a new country meant learning much more than what was taught in school. I had to understand a different culture, different traditions, and a different way of seeing the world.
I was drawn to leather first for its beauty, but eventually for something deeper: the way it asks you to understand it. Every hide behaves differently. Construction decisions matter. Sometimes an idea works beautifully; sometimes it fails and sends you back to the workbench to figure out why.
Making, experimenting, failing, fixing, and learning became as important to me as the finished object.
For years, I have explored leathercraft through bags, wallets, accessories, leather marquetry, hand stitching, different materials, construction experiments, and pieces created simply because I wanted to discover whether an idea could work.
I can still make beautiful, thoughtful pieces while giving myself room to experiment — and, one day, to create something completely outside my usual way of working.
A SLOWER WAY OF MAKING
Over the past several years, my relationship with making has had to change. I have lived through surgeries, injuries, a car accident, and ongoing physical pain. For someone who loves working with her hands, accepting physical limitations has not been easy.
There is a particular kind of heartache in wanting to make something by hand and realizing that your body cannot always keep up with your imagination.
Hand stitching has always been deeply meaningful to me. I love its rhythm, its precision, and the direct connection between my hands and the object I am making. But I am also learning to slow down.
I am beginning to incorporate a sewing machine where it makes sense, while continuing to use handwork where it matters most to me. I don’t see that as abandoning craftsmanship. I see it as allowing my practice to evolve so that I can continue making for a long time.
Unexpectedly, those limitations opened another door. They pushed me toward teaching.
Teaching gives me room to stay close to the craft without measuring my value only by how many hours my hands can stitch. It gives me space to think, experiment, solve problems, and pass along what years at the workbench have taught me.
It gives me space to be creative, honest, and meaningful.
YOM STUDIO
A place to see what I make, understand how I work, and learn the craft with me.
This website began primarily as a place to sell my work. Today, I want it to be something broader.
In Selected Work, I share finished pieces, experiments, details, and projects that represent different moments in my development as a maker.
In YOM Studio, I offer private 1:1 leathercraft sessions built around your work rather than a generic lesson plan.
Bring me the project you’re stuck on — whether it’s construction, materials, technique, pattern decisions, mistakes, or simply something that isn’t behaving the way you expected.
I don’t believe good leathercraft is only about knowing the “correct” technique. Much of it is learning how to look at a problem, understand your materials, make a decision, and keep going.
That is the part of the craft I most want to share.
FROM THE STUDIO
You will still find a small number of finished pieces available to own. But Designed by YOM is no longer meant to be a large catalogue of products. I would rather make fewer things with intention, explore ideas that interest me, and allow each piece to carry its own story.
Some pieces may be elegant. Some experimental. Some imperfect in ways I choose not to hide.
Shop From the StudioLeather carries marks of where it has been.
I think people do, too.
Thank you for visiting my studio, looking at the work, and becoming part of whatever I make next.
— From the desk of Young, forever. ☺️