The Eden Story
THE BEGINNING
Eden and Co® was founded in 2013 by Conrad and Nikke Basson in Stellenbosch, South Africa. At the time they were both students at Stellenbosch University. Nikke made a leather bag for herself from an old piece of leather she got between her grandfather’s belongings after he had passed away. With no tools or experience she made a beautiful hand-stitched bag by making the stitching holes with a pair of compasses. She went on to make Conrad a bag for his birthday and after receiving many compliments when wearing the bag, he realised the potential for a business.
They realised customers wanted good quality products with a story behind it. Being students without any money to spare, they managed to get R800 together between the two of them to buy the first skin of leather, a pair of scissors, a needle and some thread. For the first 4 years, each and every Eden and Co® product was made by them in their Stellenbosch apartments.
They remember working on the floor for years and working carefully with every cent they made to grow the business. By the time they completed their Master’s degrees in 2017, the business was well-established and could offer both sustainable full-time jobs.
SCALING UP
Upon completion of their studies, they made the decision to pursue Eden and Co® full-time. They had to make a few crucial decisions to ensure long term sustainability and growth for the business.
Early in 2017 they partnered with a factory in Cape Town to produce the Klassik Collection for Eden and Co® while they moved to the Karoo. In 2018 they partnered with another factory in Cape Town to produce footwear for Eden and Co® and since 2021 they have been focussed on scaling up production capacity in the Karoo.
Partnering with the right people has given Eden and Co® the opportunity to scale production quicker and meet customer demand.
Today Eden and Co® employs nine people at their head-office and main workshop in the Karoo. With their feet achored in the red dirt of the Karoo and designs inspired by the incredible beauty of open spaces and sinplicity, their products are used and loved all over the world.
THE VISION
Eden and Co® as a company and brand is about far more than just making and selling leather goods and jewellery. Eden and Co® is anchored in a much bigger vision, originally envisioned and brought to life by our founders and being embraced and carried forward by the whole Eden and Co® Team. To us it’s important that our customers don’t just buy our products because they simply like them – we need our customers to share in our vision, to believe in the reason why we do what we do. We want you to share in our vision!
We live in a world of where instant gratification is the order of the day and the majority of our economies are driven by mass-production industries. People buy fashion items that are trendy, cheap and readily available – items that look good now, but we don’t think if they will still be beautiful or hold-up in the 10 years from now. The world doesn’t care about whether these items end up in landfills, take thousands of years to biologically deteriorate, or wash up on our beaches causing extreme harm to our natural environments. This is where the difference lies: EDEN AND CO® CARES. To us it matters where our fashion items end up, to us it matters how long items last and to us it matters what the external impacts of our business activities are. This is why we created EDEN AND CO®.
We believe that it’s possible to create beautiful items from natural materials such as leather and precious metals that will stand the test of time without costing an arm and a leg. We strive to bring the world products that will age beautifully, are ethically sourced and are created by real craftsmen with a passion for what they do. We are convinced that we can create luxury products in harmony with our ecosystem, minimizing our current and future environmental impacts.
If you share in this vision, you are at the right place to find beautiful, long-lasting, staple pieces.
We trust that every customer will truly enjoy their Eden and Co® product for many years to come.
Conrad, Nikke and the rest of the Eden and Co® Team