About us

For decades and because of my family I’ve been coming to Italy, the country of, among others, art, design, and fashion and the country that holds the leather capital of the world: Florence. It’s fascinating to see how Italians know how, from a traditional craft, with modern techniques, fiery passion and style, to make the most beautiful bags with which they conquer the world. This already touched me many years ago, when I was looking for a bag myself – which, in the end, I bought in a small shop in Turin where I was fully consumed by Italian elegance. The online world places these beautiful Italian leather goods are within easy reach and we don’t necessarily have to travel to Italy to get them – even though I could think of a hundred more reasons to go anyway! But anyway, that’s how the idea arose to start a web shop in Italian bags: for those who can appreciate exclusivity, passion and style as much as I do.

Best wishes,
Joris

Many friends are dear to me, I cherish them all. Some are connected to Maes & Hill Collection by providing assistance and advice, and I thank them for that. That’s why I want to give them a place on our “Wall of Fame.” Many, many thanks!

Florence Siemer

Florence is the face of Maes & Hills. Known from equestrian sports where she first came into contact with photo shoots.

Alexander Siemer

Alexander is the man behind the visual material. His education and interest enable him to professionally capture the right atmosphere of our bags in photos and videos.

How it started not so long ago ….

• June 2017: idea arose to start a web shop in Italian leather bags
• August 2017: foundation of Maes & Hills Collection
• September 2017: elaboration of the concept and the first design
• October 2017: Launch web shop in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria.
• January 2019: Launch web shop in France.

Leather is one of the oldest natural materials. Since leather is a perishable material, people started developing methods to stabilise and the rough animal skins and make them more sustainable from early on. This process is called tanning. In the fashion industry, a chemical tannin method is used in more than 80 percent of the worldwide leather production. The most popular and controversial way of tanning leather is chromium tanning. This process is faster, easier and much cheaper than the natural tanning method. But the use of chromium salts is harmful to the human health and the environment.

That’s why we make a conscious choice not to use it! Vegetal tanning methods are used for almost all leather products Maes & Hill sells. With vegetal tanning, skin is processed in a pure and natural way without using harmful chemicals. The tanning substance tannin, which is obtained from wood, bark or fruits, ensures a contracting effect which strengthens the cell structure of the leather. The soft process considerably lengthens the average life span of vegetal-tanned leather as opposed to chromium-tanned leather allowing you to enjoy your leather bag for much longer.