Our Why
About Harper
Evolve by design.
Founded by artist and leatherworker Claire Harper in 2020, Harper the Label creates radically transparent, ethical leather bags and small accessories for those who are still discovering themselves.
Claire refines her timeless, sculptural designs in her studio in sunny Oakland, California. From the beginning, she has been picky about every detail so you don’t have to compromise ethics for aesthetics.
With innovative design, a commitment to honesty, and an inclusive outlook, Harper the Label’s leather accessories are meant to reflect the process of carving out a life. Claire hopes to empower every wearer to decide what their own journey looks like, because there is beauty in the becoming.
Claire's why.
The old-fashioned world of accessories is rooted in the pursuit of perfection. The styles have barely changed over the last century, and most brands prefer to create pieces to keep in a dust bag on a shelf, not to wear and love. This way of thinking put people into neat boxes according to the day’s trends, the season’s colors, or what some celebrity recommends.
But life is not about perfection: it’s fluid and doesn’t conform to anyone else’s expectations. Harper the Label creates ethical and avant-garde leather bags and accessories that are meant to be worn, not stay the same.
Just as leather gradually softens and burnishes against the body, the evolution of your own identity is a process of polishing away what no longer serves. Harper exists to celebrate the act of changing: you were never meant to be static, and neither should your accessories.
