Jacques' Story:
Leatherwork & Music (Belt & Band)
I'm Jacques Lombard, the founder of Lombard Bespoke. I'm passionate about fine leatherwork, committed to my craft, ensuring meticulous attention to detail, quality, and excellence in every piece I create. Raised in the vibrant city of Cape Town, I was surrounded by a family of talented artists and renowned musicians, which fueled my creativity.
My amazing parents encouraged me to explore my artistic side from a young age through painting, drawing, sculpture, and pottery, laying a foundation that cultivated my confidence and honed my skills.
I was fortunate to grow up in a family filled with exceptionally talented artists who demonstrated what true excellence means. Their remarkable achievements set a high standard for me and motivated me to strive in all my endeavours.
My older cousins, Albert Frost and Robin Auld, are incredibly skilled guitarists and musicians who inspired me to pursue my dreams in my early 20's.
I even had a brief professional guitarist career as the lead guitarist for Karen Zoid Band in 2010 before deciding to step back from the music scene.
My beloved grandfather, Oupa Willem, had a passion for leatherwork and, like me, showed his love through thoughtful gifts and acts of service to those around him. One Christmas when I was of about 8 years of age, he gave each grandchild leather belts, with our names engraved onto it, which is a cherished memory for me of him.
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He was also a talented craftsman, making beautifully detailed miniature furniture pieces for a elaborate dollhouse that replicated elements of the family home in Somerset West that he built.
I believe in generational blessings and therefore feel that I to share same talent and interest for fine craftsmanship.
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​In 2004, in high-school, I picked up leatherwork for the first time, starting with simple arm bands which I sold to my peers in class. I then started my deep dive into buying hand-tools and leathers, making more challenging gifts for family and friends such as wallets, passport holders and smalls - I even gifted belts to all the groomsmen at my wedding.​
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​It was in 2012, and newly married, that I found myself frequently lighting the mid-night oil to fullfilling leatherwork orders, whilst working as a Engineering Survey Technician - I travelled alot for work and knew in the back of my mind that I needed to start kindling something on the side in hope that I could transition out of that career.
It was then that I decided to start branding my creations, and settled on the brand name, Belt & Band, as it represented my two passions, leatherwork & music, with the logo being an ampersand within a plectrum shape.
In 2016, I took a leap of faith into entrepreneurship, deciding to make leatherwork my full career. This meant setting aside my Surveying career to fully embrace my creative abilities and build a brand from scratch, with the support of my wife who was still working.
During those first testing few months, I was pleased to discovered a niche market for custom watch straps, the demand blew me away with daily orders and launched me into my full time leatherwork dream. I met many clients at coffee shops in the Cape Town CBD to take there orders.
In 2019, I opened our brick & mortar first store/studio in at Rust-en-Vrede in Durbanville, CT, where we welcomed walk-ins and engaged with the community for bespoke leatherwok orders. We also launched our online shop that year.
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In 2023, after moving our growing family to Wellington, we again opened a studio and retail leather shop to the the public. It was a space to launch other projects and brands - read about this on the featured Visi Magazine press release here.
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Our fine leatherwork was becoming more known and seen therefore opportunities came along to take on extraordinary commission projects - the bigger studio space allowed for bigger projects (Like the Delaire Graff Hotel Cabinets) and workshops/training events to be held.
This push accelerated interest in the business and caused me to further research, develop and improve the techniques used in making the leather products and services offered. This was the catalyst to placing the business in a position to serve at international standards.
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Over the past decade, I have focused research and development to enhance my manufacturing techniques, improve my craftsmanship, and source finest leathers and hardware, ensuring I deliver the best quality possible.