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.
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