Lindy McDonough | Lindquist

I know it's a heck of a long story, but tell us a bit about how Lindquist came about!

I've worked in leather for the last 10 years, previously as the co-founder and creative director at Lotuff Leather. My years there were formative and taught me a great deal on how to build and design the type of timeless objects I like to see in the world. And now over the past few months with the help of my partner and friends, we have worked to build a namesake studio to try and create something of our own. With the world seeming to come to a standstill at the beginning of this year, many of us were forced to reflect on the work we were producing and the people we've surrounded ourselves with. And so, even in the midst of the pandemic, it felt like probably the worst maybe the right time to take a large risk. I credit much of my reckless/entrepreneurial spirit to my late father, who started his own outerwear company at the same age I am now.

We spent much of the summer renovating a historic mill space in Providence to create the studio to allow us the freedom to create objects the best way we know how. I wanted to spend the time to really test out all of the aspects of the bags and make sure we were happy with the results. This included sourcing different leathers from across the globe, testing out eight different types of thread, and working through all of the production and assembly steps until we were confident in all aspects of the process. We launched our first collection the beginning of October and are incredibly proud of the work that has been put into all of the pieces we were able to include.

What have been some of the most rewarding aspects of starting your new company?

Building a leather working studio is hard. In order to make the quality of leather goods we're trying to produce we had to get all of the sewing machines, splitters, cutters, skivers, grinders, buffers, and finishing machines set up and running well. But I've been able to lean on my experience in the industry to know the pieces that are needed and how to set things up. We've had to be scrappy in acquiring and fixing some used equipment, but things like that feel all the more worth it when it's your own.

Truly, the value of any studio focusing on handmade items is in the people who are able to put this all together. I've built the studio around a small team of highly skilled artisans who take the bags through every step of the process with care. I wanted a way to reflect the work of those who help make the bags, which is why I stamped the initials of every person who has worked on the bag to an inside cover of all the pieces we send out.

There really is an amazing design scene in Providence! How do you feel like being based in Providence has really enriched your business/creativity/life/etc?

I first came to Providence 16 years ago to start my freshman classes at RISD. And while I left for New York after college I had always thought of coming back because of the community here. There is an incredible network of artists working in and around the city who make everything from food to music to furniture to fashion and everything in between. Between the availability of studio space and ability to collaborate with friends I don't believe we'd be able to do what we're doing in many other cities. I think some of the draw for us as well as others is the ability to have a balance with your work, as you will find us at the beach many summer days.

Anything particularly exciting in the pipeline for Lindquist?

Oh, we've got a lot in the works. A couple new collaborations, furniture (!!!), lots of bags and some more home good certainly on the horizon. We've been working on some new leather with our tannery that's fully washable, inspired by the dumpster fire that is our current reality. We’re taking risks, but still at core of it all we are making great bags, in house by hand, one at a time.