Letters from Lucy: let me introduce myself.

Meet our 2022 – 2023 Scholarship winner, Lucy Ellis. Get to know her, her business Lucy Ellis Leatherwork and all her projects along the way.

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to start by saying a big thank you to anyone who nominated me and of course Abbey England for selecting me as this year’s scholarship winner. I am so excited to work together over the next twelve months.
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Lucy, and I am a Master Saddler and Master Bridlemaker, based in Hertfordshire. My saddlery journey began back in 2014 when I needed a double bridle for my horse and discovered that there was a shortage of people making quality, bespoke bridles. I completed the two-year Saddlery course at Capel Manor College followed by a 3-year apprenticeship with “The Saddleman”. In 2019 I officially qualified as a Saddler with the Society of Master Saddlers, and that was when I decided to start Lucy Ellis Leatherwork.

Although all of my training was with saddles, bridles and harness, I also make and repair a wide range of leather accessories including belts, dog collars, keyrings, boxes and bags.

 I really love having so much variety in the work I do because no two days are the same, one day I’ll be out measuring a horse for a bespoke bridle and the next day I’ll be fixing a designer handbag! My favourite jobs to do are always the really bespoke, one off pieces. There is usually a pretty extensive planning stage (which is when my terrible sketches get sent to the poor clients) and it’s always so exciting when I can finally get the leather on my workbench and bring the piece to life.



I’m looking forward to sharing some of my projects with you over the next few months,

Bye for now,

Lucy 😊