Origin Story

Maven Leather and Design (est. 2015) was founded by Emma Thieme, a leather artist and designer with her professional roots in auto upholstery. Before Emma ever made a bag, she made dozens of custom leather motorcycle seats.

Emma's foundation in the art of auto upholstery gives her work a unique form of longevity, while her artistic mind, and devotion to ‘imperfect’ materials has created a rare, non traditional style that is easily recognizable among those who know it.

‘Carrying a Maven bag is like being in a secret club.’

-Chloe Joy Evers

metalsmith, jeweler, sculptor

Emma’s leatherwork is loved by fellow artists, musicians, and collectors alike who seek quality, paired with originality and honest materials.

Maven is a word with many meanings. It originated from the Hebrew word mevin (מבין) meaning the 'one who understands,' and has evolved to mean anything from an ‘expert,’ to a ‘freak,’ to a ‘seeker.’

When you look it up in the dictionary, 'maven' is defined simply as ‘someone who knows how.’

This is both the meaning and title that this label claims. Because to be someone who knows how is to be someone who is constantly learning, growing and transforming - the only method of thriving in this world. And thus, the meaning returns to its roots in understanding and having compassion for one another. 

This is who we strive to be and who you are when you carry the work.

Maven goes wherever Emma goes. It was founded in an uninsulated cabin workshop in the depths of the Maine woods in 2015. Since then, it has moved to a tiny surf town on California’s Central Coast on a whim, and more recently, to Brooklyn, NY on another whim.

The first 1-of-1 NYC collection is coming soon. Maven leather collections are rare and extremely limited. Please sign up for the newsletter in the website footer for first access.

Thank you.