Shopping for Leather

One fine morning, I’m headed out the green grocers on Åžehitler Road when a middle-aged gentleman flies at me with the kind of exclamation you don’t expect to hear from such a middle-age gentleman, on such a fine morning. “That’s my bag!” goes his victory cry. Baffled, I pause in my tracks and guiltily offer up my grocery bags. My offer is a tad half-hearted though, because I really fancy those figs I just spent five minutes handpicking. “No that,” he indicates my handbag. “Do you remember me?” I blink in the mid-September sun, and after some scrutiny give voice to a victory cry to match his. “I do! And I was going to come see you because see this clasp is readying itself to go kaput!” The clasp of which I speak is on a bag I purchased from him right here in Kalkan, one year ago. The man is called Ergun Duran. He owns a shop called Need Leather in Kalkan Old town. And this is called serendipity.

Let’s bring in some context. You´ve accumulated a stash of Turkish delight, nabbed all the Ä°znik chinaware you can pack (bubble-wrap permitting), and even got your mitts on a handsome carpet. Right before you strike ´souvenirs´ off your holiday list, you stop to think, what else can you purchase here in Kalkan? Well, Turkey is a forerunner for leather goods, and this town boasts some pretty decent leather shops, like Ergun’s.

Now personally, it doesn´t quite agree with my digestion to doll out a grand or two for a bag when there´s so much poverty in the world. If you’re of the same disposition, then take this opportunity to invest in a prime grade satchel without having to pay high-street prices for a label. Bear in mind, they´re relatively cheaper than the real thing, but not so cheap as to sacrifice on quality. In fact, Ergun takes such pride in the high standard workmanship and material that´s gone into producing his goods, he promised me a life-time guarantee. To date, I haven´t had to go back to claim it on any previous purchases. Though there was that aforementioned clasp which brings us full circle to the beginning of this story. What did happen to that clasp? -you ask. It was diligently fixed, the bag returned the next day in a condition which would have been like-new if like-new was what I wanted. Nay, with bags such as this you want leather that’s aged handsomely. This is what my bag looks like, and it’s what you ought to expect from good quality leather. Neither should one have to give up one’s first born to afford it.

It’s true the old-town´s shopping scene comes alive after sunset, but there’s a couple of leather shops that are bustling with female clientele no matter what hour of day you drop in. Ergun Duran’s NEED Leather is one of them. Jafer’s Class Leather is another. We’d recommend both based on the quality of goods as well as the wide variety of products and styles they stock.

 

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