An extended family with multiple businesses, and a shared passion

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – It’s a complicated leather dynasty covering 2 generations and 6 family members (so far), mixed heritages, and 4 varied businesses which have 2 things in common – they use leather, and they rely on design creativity to produce saleable products.
Tiziano Gottardo and his son from his third marriage, Renato, run (with Tiziano’s partner), handbag manufacturer Christin’s Manufacturers. Magda Badenhorst, Tiziano’s second wife, owns furniture manufacturer Magda’s Leathers. Their daughter, Claudia Weyers, also makes furniture – quite different from her mother’s – at Hadassah Interiors. And one of their sons, Gino Gottardo, and daughter-in-law Marquerite, make small leather goods and handbags – very different from Tiziano’s – at Company & Good.
There are other children, too, also in business, but not the leather business. Claudia and Gino’s brother, Adriano, has an electronics business, and their half-brother Christiaan – from their mother’s second marriage – runs an oil recycling business with his father. Magda married a third time, and has 4 stepchildren, all also successful…all-in-all, a complex family tree.

Tiziano of Christin’s Manufacturers…ostrich leather handbags and smalls.

Christin’s Manufacturers

This story goes back to a devastated postwar Italy where Tiziano, born in 1942, grew up with little formal education and no skills training bar 6 months experience in a handbag factory.
Like many others, he emigrated, in his case to South Africa, which already had a sizeable population of former Italian PoWs who decided to stay in SA after the war.
He arrived in 1958, using his brief experience to get a job at Pointer, then one of South Africa’s leading handbag manufacturers, and still a recognised handbag brand, although both Pointer and Gauteng Leather Manufacturers, which took over the brand, are long closed.
“I learnt my trade at Pointer,” he says, “and in 1973, I saw a gap in the market for another leather handbag manufacturer, and started Christin’s Manufacturers.”
As with any new business, it was very difficult.
“I didn’t have much money, I was newly married, I worked very long hours, often with the children asleep in the factory,” he says, “but we persevered, and we tried different things. CMT work for a friend helped me save money to buy materials for my own products.”
Christin’s has survived, where several other South African luxury handbag manufacturers have closed.
It’s a business which requires intense concentration on detail and quality, and Tiziano found a partner, Stephan Marais, to share the load.
It now makes almost exclusively ostrich leather products, selling to retailers and online, and it draws inspiration, mainly from Italy, to develop up-to-date styles. It doesn’t currently export “because the factory is full”, but most of its products do end up overseas because they’re bought by tourists.
“I believe very strongly in diversification,” he says, “and we’re considering exporting, perhaps to Dubai and Europe.”
This is a family with strong business instincts; his third wife, Dorea, previously Christin’s agent, now runs guest houses for tourists.
His son with Dorea, Renato, now 23, “is being trained, from the bottom, to take my place, and Stephan’s son may also join one day”.
“I’ll soon be 82,” he says. “I’m thinking about slowing down, but the habits of a lifetime remain. Both Stephan and I are at work by 6.45 in the morning, and we both work in the factory.”

Magda of Magda’s Leathers…classic leather furniture.

Magda’s Leather

Among the projects Tiziano and Magda tried was setting up a separate business for her.
“We started Magda’s Leather in February 1979, when I was 19,” she says.
“Initially, I sold Tiziano’s bags to retailers under his brand, Christin’s. He decided I needed my own brand, so without telling me, he developed a range branded Magda’s Leather. Instead of targeting retailers, I created a party plan business, where ladies would get together for a tea party, and I would promote my bags. It grew to the point where I had 50 agents around the country.”
She and Tiziano divorced in 1988, but she continued with her business, changing direction to make a leather clothing range sold directly to the public. “It was extremely popular, and enabled me to build a big house for myself and my children, Claudia, Adriano and Gino,” she says.
And (that strong family business instinct again), that house is now used for student accommodation.
She married again, to Andries Thirion, and together they started leather furniture manufacturing. That was a good business decision, because eventually local leather clothing manufacturing couldn’t compete with imports – but local leather furniture manufacturing remains viable.
Magda, who wears her heart on her sleeve and who says her faith has been central to her success, describes herself as a classic leather furniture designer. “I believe that leather lasts for years, and that classic designs are better for leather.”

Claudia of Hadassah Interiors…cloth and leather furniture, and interior design.

Hadassah Interiors

Tiziano and Magda’s daughter, Claudia, first worked for her mother, but started her business, Hadassah Interiors (‘Hadassah’ is a Biblical girl’s name}, in March 2016 “from a desire to challenge myself to grow and be successful”, she says.
Although she and her mother are very close (“She’s always been my right hand,” her mother says) part of the reason for going their separate ways was that they have different tastes and ambitions, and Claudia “thoroughly enjoys interior designing and making things that are practical, functional, and beautiful”. That includes a far more extensive use of textiles in her furniture.
A self-described “not a people’s person, who would rather hide in the factory”, she nonetheless has the family trademark ambitiousness, and:
Has completed an export training course with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.  (“So far, I’ve only sent a couch to France, but watch this space!”)
Is currently working on improving her online shop. (“Hopefully will be done by the end of this year.”)
Is working on marketing and sales. (“And seeing where the doors open and in which direction the business will grow”.)
Has evolved into interior design. (“And am currently completing my diploma and then moving on to a 3D render course.”)
Is expanding into creating furniture specifically for guesthouses, lodges and hotels. 
“And then lastly, hopefully, a new business, Claudiaetta Gottardo – Interior Design and Project Managing, will be established next year.”

Gino and Marquerite of Company & Good…bovine leather bags, smalls, and much else besides.

Company & Good

Tiziano and Magda’s second son, Gino, and his then wife-to-be, Marquerite, started Company & Good in January 2020 after their previous careers were destroyed by the lockdown.
“This was risky business for us,” Marquerite says. “We thought: ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ and decided to dive in with our plans for our business. Oh wow, were we in for a very lengthy surprise! You know, working with a spouse or a friend can either end up in harmony or tragedy. With lots of teeth grinding, patience, and prayers, we ended up in harmony.”
“My father, mother, and siblings, all have their own businesses,” Gino says. “It’s only natural to follow in their footsteps. Marquerite also has a family full of business owners and a desire to do her own thing.
“It took some convincing at first, but here she is, and I cannot do it without her. I get to think, design, create, and play in my part of the factory, and she gets to be the organiser, as she prefers to take charge of the admin, finances, marketing, and so forth. We are fortunate to be able to fit so perfectly into one another’s worlds.”
Company & Good makes handbags and travel bags, laptop bags, belts, bow ties, ties, wallets, and rugby balls, in cow leather, “as well as the best leather care cream you will get your hands on”, named Leather Goodness.
“Marquerite loves animals and has been dreaming of a doggy leather accessory range for a long time now.” Gino says. “Perhaps you will see this on our website soon.”
Company & Good says it targets “people of all ages and cultures”, but it probably has a younger demographic than the other family businesses. Weddings are an important market. “We offer matching leather bow ties, ties and belt combos, and our smaller leather items, such as our wallets, also make for great groomsmen gifts, which we can also personalise with their names,” Gino says.
“Our leather care cream, which is one of our best-selling products, is a product that is cross marketed to Magda’s Leather and Hadassah Interior clients when they stop by the factory, as all leather furniture must be treated with a leather care cream every couple of months.”

In a relationship which is both cosy and practical, Magda’s Leather, Hadassah Interiors and Company & Good share a building in Stikland, and customers get to see a broader selection of goods.
There are also personal benefits: “I have 3 girls who love coming to the factory and spending time with their uncle and aunt,” says Claudia.  “We also help each other and are incredibly proud of what we have individually achieved and we’re always ready to sell each other’s items.”
Christin’s is in nearby Brackenfell, convenient for Gino to pop in to use some of its machinery.