How local designer Jordyn Pollock finds beauty in cowhides

Local designer Jordyn Pollock is turning cowhides into a chic accessory. Her online homeware and accessory stores, Cow Hide Co. and &Seek, offer a collection of home and fashion essentials made from traditional hides in eye-catching designs.

Pollock's passion for fashion and design was ignited at the tender age of five. After graduating with a degree in fashion design, she poured herself into her couture and bridal label, Jordyn Kelsey Couture Designs – which she operated out of her bedroom sending her on an exhilarating and nerve-wracking path of couture craftsmanship. With time came an evolution in the designer’s craft that grew outward, adding leather design to her skillset.

Preserving the beauty

An overseas trip centred on the newly conceptualised brand, Cow Hide Co., is what sparked the idea behind the range – which adds cowhides to designer prints, textures and patterns for bespoke interior décor pieces. “I have always loved cowhides as I thought they were the most beautiful way of appreciating a natural product and preserving the beauty of the hides. While I was in South America hand-picking our natural collection, I came across the metallic and printed techniques on cowhides and I thought they were so wonderfully different and funky,” shares Pollock.

With the brand’s latest range, shoppers are able to customise designer hides and runners to suit a myriad of styles, patterns and colours. “Every hide is already unique, and I thought these bright, vibrant hides would make a beautiful addition to an interior as an option to our bolder, adventurous clients. These colours and prints were so stunning to me that they actually inspired the start of &Seek,” she says.

In order to create the unique leather accessories and designer rugs and runners, she pulled her focus into designing leather accessories with the help of online tutorials and educational articles, teaching herself the tools and techniques to create each product; using an acid-wash and foil, stamp or dyed technique or a print which is directly printed onto the hide.

Not only does Pollock promote her own artistry, but she also welcomes fellow artists to exhibit theirs in celebration of a shared passion for producing something completely unique for someone. “In addition to our cow hides, zebra skins, as well as custom leather creations, we offer a wonderful new collective space where we will be hosting various local brands within the home décor sector to support each other and assist in getting different local brands out there and thriving,” she says.