In 2016, Madri Scherman, started making leather clutches as a hobby while she was studying at Stellenbosch University. It was nothing more than a side hobby. However, she soon realised that her fascination with leather was much more than just a side hustle, but rather her career and academic path. Her business, Masch, was born.
Madri Scherman has always been interested in fashion and crafts. When she was younger she loved watching fashion TV and wanted to study fashion. Her academic path went a different route but she found her way back to fashion in her third year at Stellenbosch University when she started making leather clutches and bow ties as a hobby. PHOTO: Lara van Zyl
Nestled in between the coffee shops and art galleries of Stellenbosch, there is a little yellow door, freshly painted and new. Inside this yellow door, situated on Dorp Street, you will be greeted with a friendly smile and warm hello. Her name is Madri Scherman, the founder and proud owner of Masch.
It started with a clutch
Growing up in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape, Madri was fascinated with fashion television programmes. Her business was born out of her love and curiosity for fashion and crafts. It all started with an envelope leather clutch and a birthday party.
Madri wanted a plain leather clutch for her 21st birthday party, but couldnʼt find one.
“I was looking everywhere, in every shop,” explains Madri. “I went back home [to Uitenhage] where there are two tanneries in town.”
Her uncle took her there, bought two pieces of leather and told her to “go do what you want to”.
“And I thought, ‘Well now I’m going to make one myself,’” recalls Madri.
Soon after that, she started receiving requests from her friends and peers for the same envelope leather clutch. She started a side hobby making and selling these clutches. She later introduced bow ties and skinny ties to her range too.
“I started putting my allowance aside, and for my 21st birthday I received a small portion of my inheritance. It was very little, but I used the money to buy most of my tools,” says Madri. “You can initially start off really small, but then you just need to start getting money back to be able to buy something else again.”
Growth happened slowly but surely from one month to the next.
Madri initially made all of the bags herself, but later started outsourcing to producers in Cape Town and overseas. The only collection that is still made in-house using these tools is the Wood Collection. PHOTO: Lara van Zyl
An ode to the academic
Before Madri started making her leather clutches, she planned to study medicine. She did a BSc degree in molecular biology and biotechnology at Stellenbosch University, with the plan of going into medicine afterwards. However, she decided to enroll for a postgraduate qualification in marketing to turn her hobby into a business.
“I actually had class in the evening, so I was able to work during the day and have class at night. Itʼs an honours level so I could actually do my masters [degree] after that,” says Madri. “I told my parents that I never had a gap year — I pulled that card — and said Iʼm going to try this.”
During her postgraduate year, Madri also did research on where to get formal education on leather. “Leather was a very interesting material for me to work with. I had a lot of art hobbies, but leather was more interesting,” explains Madri.
Madri’s life revolves around Masch, but she does have other interests too. She is very active and loves to jog and play hockey. On her days off, however, she spends time with her friends or family. PHOTO: Lara van Zyl
What interested Madri the most was discovering that there are no academic institutions in South Africa that offer a formal education on working with leather science. So she took an even bigger leap and did her masterʼs in England, and received her certificate on 16 June 2021.
“I did my masterʼs in leather technology at Northampton University in England. I started class on 5 January 2020, but I had to come back due to Covid and because of the business. I did the rest online, but it was a really cool experience. Very chemistry- and leather-orientated.”
You need to hustle
Madri first registered Masch as a business in 2017. The brand name itself is a mashup of Madriʼs name. “Itʼs the beginning of my name and the beginning of my surname, MA from Madri and then SCH from Scherman,” explains Madri.
In 2017 she moved to Klein Welgevonden, on the outskirts of Stellenbosch, into a two bedroom apartment and used the second bedroom as a work space. “It was really chaotic. There was leather everywhere. I worked until like 12 o’clock every evening, because hand-stitching is very time consuming,” explains Madri.
Leather was a very interesting material for me to work with
Masch has seen many different homes from this point on: Klein Joostenberg in an old pigsty-turned-warehouse space, a shop in Simondium, many different pop-up shops around the country and famous expos like Kamers Makers, Nampo and Home Expo.
“Kamers offers a lot of exposure, so you only go there for marketing purposes. On the financial side itʼs quite expensive and itʼs not like you make a lot of money there,” explains Madri. “You need to hustle.”
Masch finally returned to Stellenbosch with its first store. The little yellow door had its first opening in May 2021. “I took a really big risk by opening this store. I looked everywhere – from Cape Town, Paarl, Franschhoek, Somerset West – and I decided that my biggest clientele is in Stellenbosch. Itʼs the most expensive place to have a shop, but itʼs been doing really well. I think itʼs the best thing that we could have done,” says Madri.
Madri describes herself as a dreamer with a love for academics. She was supposed to do a course focusing on shoes last year, but was unable to due to Covid-19. Madri has created a successful business with an Instagram following of over 18 000. PHOTO: Lara van Zyl
Masch has also introduced a clothing line during the pandemic, which is now a major part of the store. The clothing, designed by Madri, started due to the struggle of finding the correct apparel for photoshoots. “We started with the signature Masch dress, the one I made for the shoots,” says Madri. “We realised thereʼs a very big request for a clothing line. So at the beginning of this year, we started a full line again.” This line includes the signature Masch dress, the seasonal dress and there is now a signature coat and blouse as well.
Following a dream
Madri has been running the show by herself since the very beginning. From designing the clothes and bags, to keeping the books, to running the social media and online store.
Madri only started outsourcing when she went to England for her masterʼs. “When I was overseas, I had a very lovely girl who helped me out. She managed the admin side of things and she still helps me with the photoshoots,” explains Madri.
Although she selects the materials and designs the leather bags herself, Madri started outsourcing to different companies in Cape Town and overseas to stitch the bags. The collections made overseas, such as the Luxury Collection, are more expensive than those made locally. The wooden collection, however, is still handmade in the shop.
Madri admits that even though she’s been doing most of the work, she could not have done it without the help of others. A friend, for example, helped her with the online shop and designed Masch’s logo back in 2017. Friends have also helped her with moving products, and her boyfriend offered to have a pop-up shop at his house early on in their relationship.
“It was a lot of help from a lot of people around me. If you don’t have people who can help you with those small things like [designing] a website or a logo, like helping out with the pop-ups or driving you somewhere, getting a bakkie to deliver all the equipment – it gets quite difficult. Iʼm very grateful for the people around me,” says Madri.
The Masch store in Stellenbosch opened in May 2021. Masch has been an online store from 2017 but has had pop-up shops, appeared at expos like Kamers Makers, Nampo and Home Expo and has had a store in Simondium. PHOTO: Supplied/Madri Scherman
Madri, now 26, plans to continue to grow the business. “Iʼm still playing it a bit safe. But itʼs just for now. So hopefully, by the end of this year, or next year, I can actually have more of a team, not just me.”
This little yellow door and the store behind it is not the end for Madri. “I think Iʼll definitely stay in the leather industry, but actually start exploring more, like the other fields of it. And shoes… shoes are definitely on my list.”
Article updated on 27 July 2021. In the previous version it was stated that Madri started making her leather clutches while in Irene Ladies Residence in 2016, but she had already moved into an apartment before starting with the clutches. It was also stated that there was no formal education on leather in South Africa. However, it was meant to say no formal education on leather sciences in South Africa.