What a small run actually means

The phrase « small run » is often used without anyone quite knowing what it covers. At ISLI it corresponds to a concrete way of choosing materials and making each piece.

The material shapes the collection

We work mainly from premium deadstock leather, selected in particular through La Réserve des Arts in Paris.

These materials are not picked from a permanent catalogue. They are discovered as deliveries come in, then selected one by one for their colour, their texture and their particularities.

The collection is therefore built from a creative intention, but also from what is genuinely available. It is not always possible to reproduce a precise colour, or to offer it again several months later.

The ISLI palette is born of that meeting between our own world and materials that already exist.

Making at a craft pace

Every bag is cut, prepared and assembled by hand in Casablanca.

This way of producing naturally imposes a rhythm and limits quantities. When a model or a colour finds its audience, production cannot be multiplied immediately on a large scale.

That choice lets us keep the attention we give to shapes, finishes and the construction of every piece.

Availability that is genuinely limited

At ISLI, small quantities are not used to create an artificial sense of urgency.

They are the direct consequence of our sourcing and our way of making. When a leather runs out, it is not always possible to find exactly the same colour, the same texture or the same shades again.

A colour may reappear in a close form, but rarely in a perfectly identical one.

Singular pieces

Even within the same run, two bags can show slight variations.

Each hide has its own grain, its shades and its natural marks. These particularities are not considered defects: they speak of the material and make every piece singular.

What are the Archives for?

When a collection comes to an end, its last examples join the ISLI Archives.

There you find pieces offered in very limited quantities, with no guarantee of restock. It is often where the last colours, or the last versions of a silhouette, remain.

When the piece you are looking for is gone

You can write to us at contact@islistudio.com.

Our studio is independent, so every message is read with care. We will tell you plainly whether a close colour, a new version or a similar piece is likely to arrive soon.

The pieces available right now are in our shoulder bags and earrings collections.