About us

JOHN & MARY is a brand created by two designers from Warsaw, Maria Olszewska and Jan Dybowski. Maria graduated from Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School (previous name: Krzysztof Kieślowski Faculty of Radio and Television) University of Silesia and studied fashion design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Jan holds a degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from the Warsaw University of Technology.

We created our brand in 2018 when we were both in need of wallets. We wanted a wallet that was of excellent leather quality, minimalist, and at the same time unique. Since such a wallet was not easy to find, we decided to create it ourselves. After creating a few prototypes from paper and rigid fabric, we reached the final version, which was hemmed in a sewing workshop. That is how IRUN – our flagship product – was born.

We were inspired by memories of old-fashioned leather products found in our grandmothers’ and grandfathers’ closets, especially with their simplicity and timelessness. That’s why IRUN is first and foremost functional but in an original way. Its design is intriguing because it consists of one piece of leather stitched in such a way to create a neat item that fits perfectly in one’s hand.

Our goal is to create beautiful, minimalistic, and enduring leather products that are functional and comfortable to use. We would like everyone holding our product in their hands to feel that it is something unique, handmade from the best quality of leather and set to last for many years.

GRAIN LEATHER

The leather used to make our products is a vegetable-tanned leather, which means that it is processed according to traditional methods similar to those used centuries ago and using uniquely natural tannins, e.g. Mimosa Hostilis root bark. Thanks to this the final product is very sturdy, has a noble scent, and ages beautifully over time, brightening without diminishing its quality. Our leathers are unvarnished and therefore their surface is easily scratched. If the leather gets scratched, it suffices to delicately wipe the scratch away with your finger. It is a natural process for leather to darken under the influence of water and sunlight. In order to slow down this process and ensure a longer life for the leather, we recommend regularly rubbing bee wax or wax-based grease on your item which impregnates the leather naturally and therefore avoids darkening and maintains its character for longer. The leather surface can be protected from water with the use of a leather protector spray.

SUEDE

Suede is a specific kind of leather that dislikes moisture, so it is particularly important to take greater care with it than with grain leather. Our suede originates from Italy and is exceptionally soft and delicate. In order to protect it from the elements, we recommend regularly using colorless leather protector sprays that will make it less susceptible to dirt and moisture. In case of dirt, we recommend dry cleaning it with a special suede cleaning sponge or brush.

PRODUCTION

Since the concept of ZEROWASTE is important to us, 90% of our suede comes from companies that source material from Italian warehouses which collect leather scraps from large factory production. Through this nothing is wasted, and we utilize existing material. What is more, during the production process we try to make use of even the smallest pieces of leather. We make key chains as well as leather samples which we provide with purchased purses so the client can test their care products on them.

The entire production process takes place in Poland because we truly care about supporting local craftmanship. Starting with the conceptual projects born in our studio in the center of Warsaw and ending with the creation of prototypes and the production process in a family-owned sewing workshop in the Masovia region, we control the quality at each phase of the production process.