“It was difficult in the beginning because in 1997 the state provided no support whatsoever when it came to developing craftsmanship and entrepreneurship. To this very day we’re witnessing alarming quantities of low-quality merchandise flooding domestic stores”, Peter Jagušt’s son Mladen says.
When his father was starting the shop, he wasn’t discouraged by the craftsmanship climate because he believed in his knowledge and experience he had invested in this small craft. Apart from Petar Jagušt, the craft is run by his wife Ljiljana and son Mladen and they make leatherware products, predominantly bags, belts, wallets, document cases and other leather accessories in limited editions. Every product is one-of-a-kind and it takes about five hours of dedicated work to make a quality bag because every item is special.
Photo: Davor Puklavec/PIXSELL
When it comes to materials, they use leather, artificial leather, lining silk and the finest materials available in the market. From time to time they do serial products, but they offer is based on minimalist classic models. Apart from making unique handicraft, they do repairs and they do more complex repairs on travel bags, hiking and military backpacks and dog and equestrian equipment. They mostly use classic machinery that takes up a lot of space because they still prefer hand to machine processing.
Due to the fact that they produce limited quantities, all of their products are unique works of art which are a result of long-standing traditional handicraft and a loyal relationship with customers whose needs and wishes they take into consideration on a daily basis. In the future they plan on staying competitive in the varied products market and will work even harder despite the imported items.
