Valentine Huyghues Despointes – Leather craftsman

Île-de-France – 1985

Valentine Huyghues Despointes is a leatherworker. This passion for leather and the world of craftsmanship was passed on by her father, a car saddler. She has studied at Studio Berçot and has obtained a CAP in saddlery/maroquinerie at Ateliers Grégoire in 2013. The following year, she set up her own workshop.

As a leatherworker, she shapes and experiments with leather every day to create pieces in a poetic, dreamlike universe of jungles, colorful animals and stylized silhouettes. She has been assisted by her collaborator Mélanie Durand since 2020. The two combine their skills to create decorative objects, collections of bags and accessories for individuals, decorators or luxury brands.

Research and innovation

Valentine Huyghues Despointes designs and creates unique pieces of all sizes using leather from the finest French tanneries, as well as recycled high-end scraps. No exotic leather is used in the creative process. With her great artistic sensitivity, she offers colourful, made-to-measure projects inspired by the sea, ice floes, food and vegetation.

Transmission

Keen to pass on her expertise, Valentine Huyghues Despointes trains several trainees each year. In 2018, she taught “Leatherwork” at the Beaux-Arts de Versailles. In 2021, she also launched Do It Yourself kits.

Fondation Rémy Cointreau has supported Valentine Huyghues Despointes in 2021. The aim was to repair her slitter, a machine essential to the leatherworker’s work.