— Interview with Kristin Maurer, founder of Snekkerbuks
Kristin Maurer creates high-quality, unique products that work well, last a long time, and can be repaired. Handcrafted These products embody Kristin’s values—community, craftsmanship, and family. In this interview, she explains how these values define her work in sustainable children’s fashion.
Contents:
Community
How does the production of fair-trade children's clothing foster a sense of community?
At first, I only had the kids’ leather pants as my product. The community came about because at some point, all three of my kids were wearing these pants and had outgrown them. So I passed the pants down within the family, and everyone realized: Hey, these are really great pants. As those kids grew older, they passed the pants on in turn. That’s how we realized they last a long time, and that everyone is absolutely thrilled when they get a pair of these old, used leather pants.
At the Waldorf school, it turned into a constant cycle of passing things along. The moms would ask each other, “Is it okay if I pass these pants on to another mom?” And I’d say, “Sure!” That’s how the leather pants made the rounds at school, and a sense of community developed that really had nothing to do with money at all. The pants are a special case—they’re filled with so many wonderful childhood stories. To me , that’s “fair-trade children’s clothing” in the truest sense of the word.
Pre-Owned Community Through Sustainable Children's Fashion
Based on this experience, I also sell used pants that customers send back to me after a long time. For example, ten years ago—in 2014 or 2015—a woman bought a pair of pants that had since been worn by a few children. Now she’s sent those pants back and got 50% of the original purchase price refunded by me. She used that money to buy a small handbag from my online store. Ever since I started offering pre-owned pants, I’ve noticed that these are the first ones to sell again. That’s because they’re cheaper, of course, and they still look great—even after five years. Especially with pants, it’s become clear that this really works, and that people don’t mind if the pants are a little worn—or that they actually think it’s cool.
Kristin Wichter (waldkindergarten-tipps.de), a mom whose child attends a forest kindergarten and an expert in the field, has written a great article about our leather pants based on a long-term test.
Does your offer of free repairs also help build a community?
I actually have very few repairs to do. I think the products just don't break. I've been offering free repairs for many years now, and in all that time I've received maybe three requests.
But there are some lovely stories, too: For example, a girl came to see me recently whose father had bought a backpack. The daughter took over the backpack because she loved it so much. She lives near Amsterdam and rode her bike all the way to my shop to ask if I could fix it. It really was her whole world—she lived out of that backpack, carried it every single day throughout her entire school career. But now the backpack was broken—there was truly nothing that could be done. So she turned it into a laptop bag and sent me some photos. Really cool.
Crafts
All of your products are Handcrafted. How did you learn to sew?
Maybe it’s just in my blood. My grandmother, Luzie, was a dressmaker and had her own studio. She made a living that way and supported the family. During the war, she would often trade dresses for food. Her studio was on the ground floor of her house, just like mine. I inherited sewing machines with leather needles from my grandmothers.
I’ve always sewn myself — my whole life , ever since I was about twelve. Sofa covers, curtains—anything that would fit under the sewing machine. I was interested in interior design and was always redecorating my room. It was all DIY, really—I’ve never taken a sewing class in my life. I ended up studying something completely different, but I always sewed on the side. It was a way to balance out everything else—all that mental work.
Sewing with Sustainable Leather
When I made my first pair of leather pants Handcrafted using a sewing machine and a leather needle, I quickly realized that the seams didn’t look very good. So I went to the shoemaker here on Pretoriusstraat and asked him what I could do about it, if he had any tips for me. He said I should buy a professional sewing machine. And he offered to spend an evening showing me how his leather sewing machine works. That was my only lesson—one evening after work at the Turkish shoemaker’s. We sewed a pair of leather pants together, and he explained the ins and outs of sewing with leather to me. That you have to singe the threads after cutting them. And that, unlike fabric, you can stretch leather up to 2 cm if a piece is too short, so it always fits in the end.A few tricks that were absolutely worth their weight in gold. I still use them today.
As a craftsperson, what do you look for in materials?
The material has to suit me. The thicker, the better. I prefer leather and thick cotton fabric—coarser fabrics that have more of a three-dimensional quality. Leather is a reliable, high-quality material; it doesn’t tear, always looks just as good, and makes a real statement. I work exclusively with natural materials— fabrics that feel good to the touch—because quality is extremely important to me.
How did you come up with the designs for your products?
I developed the design myself andperfected it over the years with my outdoor pants. I kept making new prototypes for my own kids because I knew it wasn’t quite right yet. I’d give them away, too: “Try these pants on and let me know what you think after a while.” That’s how I figured out what could still be improved: The width, an extra pocket, or a longer or shorter strap… From 2012 to 2015, I kept refining the design. But then it was finally just right. The design hasn’t changed since then, and I’ve never received any criticism about the cut or anything else. They fit perfectly. Now I’m really glad I developed them this way.
When it comes to the punching bag , things went a bit faster. Sometimes I have these creative nights where inspiration just hits me, and I think: now I’m going to develop a product. That’s actually the best part of the whole process. I get an idea and then keep thinking: how could I place the zipper somewhere else? Or make another seam invisible or visible? Then I work by trial and error. I don’t sketch it out—I just start sewing right away, rip it out, and sew a little bit more. With the punching bag, it took one night, and by the end of the night I was totally happy.I thought, “This is it.” I haven’t changed a thing since then.
With the leather pants, the main thing was that they had to fit right—the kids had to be happy with them. With the punching bag, it was important to me to find the perfect balance between minimalism and beauty. No overly complicated steps. That’s an important aspect of my products. I continually simplify the products to the point where they can’t be simplified any further, yet they still retain the same look. This also ensures there are no weak seams. They’re designed to function well and last a long time.
Family
How have your sustainable products and your family developed together and influenced each other?
My products were created to meet my family's needs. It always stemmed from my desire to have a product for my children that wasn't available in stores. A practical product—I'm a very practical person.
Outdoor Pants for Kids
When the kids were little, I thought, “We go outside every day, and there aren’t any decent pants.” I had three babies, twins—you end up with so much laundry, and you have to wash cotton pants again after just half an hour. Leather pants, on the other hand, never really need washing. You can just wipe them down. And if something really bad happens to the pants, well, then you can rinse them off in the shower or just soak them completely in water. The daycare director told me back then, full of enthusiasm, that my three kids were always the first out to play and stayed outside the longest in their leather pants. Other kids had to put rain pants on over theirs, or come back inside every now and then when it was wet outside…
My kids actually became “outdoor kids” just because they were wearing lederhosen. We’ve also changed as a family because we were basically always outside, and we enjoyed it. That kind of came about because of the lederhosen. If I hadn’t had a product that allowed me to be outside all day long with the kids—despite the cold or the rain or whatever—then our lives might have turned out a little differently.
The Backpacks
Then later, when the kids turned four, they started school and needed another new item: a little backpack. For their lunchbox and water bottle. So I looked around again and thought, there probably aren’t any decent kids’ backpacks that can be thrown on the ground, get dirty, and still last a long time. That’s when I made the first leather kids’ backpack for my oldest daughter. It matched her pants. And then at some point I thought: Hey, my kid has such a fun backpack— I want one like that, too. That’s how I first ever got the idea to make something for adults as well. So I started with handmade leather backpacks for adults, and later expanded to other sustainable leather bags.
The Punching Bags
Later, during the COVID-19 pandemic, my kids were already a bit older. That’s when I added the punching bag—the kids were home instead of at school, and things were a little stressful at home. I already had some leather lying around from all the other projects, so I came up with the idea of making a punching bag. We already had wall bars and a swing inside, and that’s how the punching bag came about. Strangely enough, it was used less by the kids and more by all the girlfriends who came over. But now that my daughter is 14, she boxes at a boxing club.
I’ve also always tried to involve the children in the business. I let them sew on the sewing machine from a very early age, and I still give them simple tasks to do. They don’t always feel like it, but I think it’s just part of life when their mother runs a craft business or a shop from home. After dinner on Sundays, we make the traditional shoes and sandals—there are so many steps involved: cutting the rubber, threading the needles… The kids can actually do everything except the actual sewing. Sometimes they do it reluctantly, but sometimes they enjoy it, and they can even earn money doing it. Right now, my daughter also fills the punching bags sometimes. One of my daughters loves to sew; she wants to take over the business later on. She’s allowed to sew on my old leather sewing machine. It really makes me happy to see that the kids know how to handle materials well. It makes sense, really—they’re growing up in the workshop and are involved in everything.
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