Owen Barry

Owen Barry’s story spans generations of a family working with skins. Walter and Amy Barry operated a Wiltshire tannery in the late nineteenth century; their grandson Owen founded the manufacturing business bearing his name in 1948. The company still makes its products in its own Somerset workshop, with Cindi and Chas preserving that family history.

Sheepskin, leather, and cowhide are selected and hand-cut for different uses. The company describes its materials as food-industry by-products and keeps production in Somerset. Its team combines knowledge passed between generations with craftspeople who have spent decades in the workshop. The work is expressed through pieces retaining the material’s texture and individual differences.

The clothing collection includes sheepskin coats, vests, hats, gloves, and other accessories. Bags use suede, leather, and cowhide in crossbody, shoulder, backpack, briefcase, and travel formats. Folders, belts, purses, keyrings, and aprons extend the leather-goods range, from daily use to pieces carrying work essentials.

The home range includes beanbags, cushions, throws, rugs, seat pads, and hot-water-bottle covers. Pet accessories include beds and blankets. These are different applications of the same materials: a supporting surface, garment, or bag needs its own shape and finish, and the catalog allows selection by intended use.

Workshop production allows requests for variations on a design and personalized service. Owen Barry also provides repairs and refurbishment and publishes a lifetime guarantee, with specific information about its conditions. Material and care guides accompany pieces, connecting daily use with preserving the skin.

The workshop is in Street, Somerset. Factory tours are arranged for Tuesdays or Wednesdays at 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. The former factory shop is closed; the business still offers showroom appointments. That distinction allows visitors to explore the manufacturer’s work without assuming there is a walk-in store.

Online sales and stockists bring the collection to other destinations. Stockists form a retail network, not Owen Barry’s own workshops. The project remains centered in Somerset, where the relationship between skin selection, cutting, manufacturing, and customer service carries forward a family business making products for dressing, traveling, and living at home.