Born in Hertfordshire on 7th July 1955, Graeme Ellisdon left school to try his hand at a series of jobs before heading off to travel the world. On returning to England and with no formal design training, Graeme founded OSPREY LONDON in 1980. With just £500 and an innate feel for working with leather, Graeme created a range of beautiful handmade belts. These best-selling items were soon joined by leather bags and accessories for women and men.

'I have always loved working with leather because it's a natural material with real integrity that improves with age,' he explains. 'When I'm making a bag or a belt or a wallet, it reminds me of my father who was a carpenter. As natural materials, leather and wood require work and craftsmanship to transform them from something raw into something beautiful that lives on. There's something about the ancient simplicity of that which I really relate to.'

This belief in the positive power of craftsmanship & design can also be seen in Graeme's willingness in recent years to take on unloved, derelict buildings and turn them into highly desirable properties.

In fashion terms, Graeme's method of creating his collections is unconventional yet highly effective. Rather than sketching designs on paper, Graeme prefers to respond to the leather and engineer it into a working 3D sample. It's this built-engineered approach that ensures OSPREY LONDON bags, belts and accessories are so successful in real-life use. Every strap, pocket and fastening has been considered and put through its paces so it not only looks gorgeous but it works beautifully!

With his vintage design aesthetic inspired by a well-travelled and yet quintessentially English sensibility, Graeme Ellisdon's signature style is to play with the 'classic' tag, bringing a hint of naughtiness and fun to otherwise buttoned-up, ladylike pieces, in a way that's typically London and very now. It's this understated wit and sensuality combined with a long-standing reputation for quality that ensures OSPREY LONDON goes from strength to strength.

Graeme lives in the Hertfordshire countryside with his wife, Alex, and their three children and dogs.