Project Dyad co-founders Vincent Urbain and Jessika Balzer.
Project Dyad: Merging traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design
Published: 11th Mar 2022
Project Dyad, Leather goods manufacturer, was co-founded by Jessika Balzer and Vincent Urbain. In this issue, Jessika answers our questions.
What is the inspiration for your brand/styling/concept?
Merging traditional craftsmanship with a contemporary approach to design.
We want to offer practical and functional pieces with a modern, minimalist aesthetic. For people that are looking for something different, that are design conscious and don’t want to participate in fast fashion.
Most of our inspiration comes from working hands-on with the materials in our studio and from our customers who wear the pieces in the end. As creative people we absorb many impressions around us and those can form an idea in the end.
Do you sell via social media only or do you also supply retailers?
We sell through our own online shop and physical retail store. We also supply other retailers online and physical retail stores. Social media is a vital part in building brand awareness, reaching customers and leading them to our website.
How dependent are you on the tourist trade?
Tourists have been a vital part of our customers in the past and definitely helped us scale in the first few years. With the pandemic that fell away and we concentrated on the local market predominantly and have seen a big increase in local customers, but we do hope the tourist trade will grow again. Through tourism we gained more international customers and retailers overseas, so it is important for us to reach a more global audience.
Do you manufacture locally or import?
We manufacture locally in our studio in Woodstock, Cape Town.
If you manufacture locally, are there any problems with availability of components and/or services, and what are they?
We managed to find great local suppliers for pretty much all our needs, the only thing would be a lack of diversity of the leather produced in SA, which results that almost everyone in our field uses the same leathers. I wish there would be more support for small business like ours to manufacture small run collections in different colours without having to import those leather colours or without having to order big amounts from local tanneries.
Do you need any assistance, and if so, what and from who?
One can always use assistance in marketing I would say.
It would be amazing if someone would built a trade specific platform for experienced production workers and manufacturers. Somewhere where businesses like ours could advertise available positions and workers go to look for employment or even advertise their skills. Right now the industry very much works through word of mouth but in this digital age and so many people looking for work, it could be a great tool.
Some background on you and your business:
What is the full business name, and is it a Pty Ltd, cc, sole proprietorship, trust, etc.
Project Dyad (Pty) Ltd
When did it start?
We launched in December 2016.
What is your background in footwear and/or leather goods?
I studied fashion design and started working with leather in 2012.
Approximately how many pairs and/or units per day do you produce?
Totally depends...5-15
Do you see the opportunity to increase that?
Yes sure, if we can grow our team of experienced staff.
Tools of the trade
- Bertier Customs: Handmade, to a different dimension
Shoemakers who know Jean Teplitsky genuflect when they mention his name. He, however, is quite humble. What is the inspiration for your brand/styling/concept? My inspiration is contemporary style integrated with classic techniques elevating the product to the highest level, while always trying to balance comfort, aesthetic and q ...moreHandmade Espadril: A touch of the Med
Patricia Terre is Spanish. With local Rizqah Isaacs, she co-founded Handmade Espadril in 2014. She studied fashion styling at Central Saint Martins in London and both worked in retail with first line and luxury brands for years. "We lived surrounded by some of the most exclusive brands in the world, which taught us everything we know ...moreFreedom of Movement: Aiming for a globally recognised South African lifestyle brand
Freedom of Movement, clothing, footwear, leather goods, eyewear and timepiece brand sourced locally and imported, was co-founded by brothers Brothers Léan and Roal Boezaart. In this issue, Léan answers our questions. ...more- Where quality and innovation come first, second, third...This was intended to be a one-off feature, but it's become clear that there are many more businesses - and many more takes on how to do business - than could be included in a single issue. So now the intention is to make this a regular segment in the monthly magazine. As an introduction, it seems to S&V that there are 2 parallel leath ...more
Footwear Industry Articles
- Shlobo Designs: Foreign consumers appreciate handwork and the story behind the brand
Durban, KZN, SA – I’m a native of Umlazi’s K section, but I’ve called Seaview home since 1994.My life has been a tapestry of experiences, woven with threads of resilience, creativity, and unwavering determination. My journey took an unexpected turn when I was retrenched while working for the bank with a wealth expe ...moreRetail: ‘If you can’t make what’s needed, retail can’t sell what you make’“I have had a consistent message for manufacturers from when the Masterplan started,” said Michael Lawrence, executive director of the National Clothing Retail Federation (NCRF). “Bring us what can sell to consumers, and we’ll buy it. There are some caveats, of course, around issues like value, design, branding, su ...moreThe Chinese sports brand taking on Nike and Adidas
Chinese sportswear brand Anta counts Olympic freestyle skier Eileen Gu among its brand ambassadorsChina's economy was just starting to open up in the late 1980s when a determined high school dropout made his way to Beijing with 600 pairs of shoes.Ding Shizhong had them made in a relative's factory and now he was going to sell them. The mo ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- Sam Setter's 'Pills': Congratulations!Congratulations and compliments to UNIC and COTANCE for the huge job they have done together with LCHA, AHSLEA, Beef & Lamb New Zealand, TDSD, CICB, ALLPI, ICT, ICHSLTA, ICEC and SLF as well as many others by convincing the EU to scrap bovine hides from the EUDR directive. A long and tiring process which has cost them lots of time and ...moreSARLEN – the journey so far
SARLEN was guided by a model policy framework for the leather value chain, adopted by all member states in 2023. It was supported by Deutsche Zusammenarbeit (German Cooperation), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), with the SADC Secretariat as the principal sponsor.The building blocks are ass ...moreSam Setter's 'Pills': TraceabilityThe EU Commission is very much engaged in bringing traceability of our raw materials to the forefront of tannery management. But let’s reflect on this for a moment. In the industrial world traceability is a fact, and particularly where food is involved, traceability is a standard requirement for trading. This is firstly to ensure fo ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- China-made firefighting equipment now needs verification of conformity with SANS standardsPretoria, Gauteng, SA – Firefighting equipment is among the 25 product categories published on 01 April by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition for a mandatory Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) Programme.The system will require certain goods shipped from China to be tested and certified before they enter the ...moreBiodegradable disposable gloves ‘a growing trend’ in PPE
The poster is available to download in English in both PNG and PDF formats hereCompostable and biodegradable PPE are said to be rapidly growing trends internationally, lead by brands like Showa and HaPPE Earth.The nova-Institut für politische und ökologische Innovation GmbH in Hürth, Germany, has published an updated versio ...moreThe PPE Conference – PPE isn’t optional, it’s essential: A review
Leighton Bennett, the Safety First Association chairperson and a SHE and risk management consultantThe hosts of this first PPE Conference held in South Africa, were the Safety First Association and SAPEMA, on the 10 and 11 March 2026, at the Emperor’s Palace, in Kempton Park.This conference objectives were to provide a unique opport ...more
© S&V Publications
