Atelier Madre – Inside a Barcelona Leather Workshop Where Craftsmanship is on Display

Designer Manuel Dreesmann’s Atelier Madre offers a glimpse into contemporary leatherworking, where each piece is made by hand and the workshop is part of the experience.

I stopped by Atelier Madre the other day, expecting to have a look around and learn a little more about locally made leather products. What I found was a lovely, welcoming space, with people busy making things right there in front of me.

A woman was carefully stitching a piece of leather. Nearby, another member of the team was helping customers personalize their purchases. Everyone seemed happy to talk about what they were doing, and I found myself lingering longer than I’d planned.

It was the kind of visit that reminds me how much I enjoy discovering Barcelona’s smaller creative spaces. You walk through the door and get a sense of the people behind the work.

A workshop you can walk into

Atelier Madre sits on Carrer del Rec, in Barcelona’s El Born neighborhood. Inside, the space is bright and surprisingly spacious, with painted white brick walls and high ceilings with wooden beams.

The atmosphere is relaxed and contemporary. Leather bags and accessories are displayed around the room, while the workshop itself is in the back and remains open to visitors. You can watch the artisans cutting, stitching and finishing pieces as you browse.

What makes this particularly interesting is how the work is organized. At Atelier Madre, each artisan makes an individual piece from beginning to end. One person follows the leather through the different stages of production, from cutting and preparing the edges to stitching, assembling and finishing the final object.

There’s something satisfying about that approach. The person working on a bag understands its construction intimately, and the finished piece carries the attention of someone who has been involved throughout.

During my visit, the team was friendly and approachable. There was an easy exchange between the women working at the benches and the customers exploring the shop. Watching a piece being stitched while someone nearby discussed a personal detail for their purchase made the whole process feel very immediate.

It also made me think about how rarely we get to see objects being made, even the ones we use every day.

From a personal experiment to a Barcelona atelier

The story behind Atelier Madre begins with German designer Manuel Dreesmann, who started making leather goods in 2018.

Initially, it was a personal project. He taught himself to work with leather and began creating pieces for friends and family, gradually developing a collection of bags and accessories.

In 2021, he opened a space in El Born. Interestingly, the original idea was to have somewhere to make the products. The retail side developed naturally as people passing by became curious about what was happening inside.

That explains a lot about the character of Atelier Madre today. It still feels like a working studio that happens to welcome visitors.

Dreesmann’s designs favor simple shapes and thoughtful proportions. There’s a contemporary, almost architectural quality to many of the bags, with carefully considered details.

One example is the Fiona Bag, introduced in 2026. Made from full-grain, vegetable-tanned leather, it has a generous, structured shape and a restrained design that allows the material to take center stage. Like other pieces in the collection, it’s intended to change with use, developing a patina that reflects how its owner carries it.

It’s an appealing idea, especially in a world where so many accessories are designed around short-lived trends.

Leatherworking in Barcelona, past and present

Leatherworking has deep roots in Barcelona. During the medieval period, leatherworkers were an important part of the city’s trades, with different crafts occupying particular streets and neighborhoods.

Even today, street names offer clues to that history. Carrer dels Assaonadors, for example, takes its name from the leather dressers who once worked in the area, preparing hides for further use.

The tradition extends well beyond Barcelona. Spain has long been associated with leather craftsmanship, from the leather-goods workshops of Ubrique in Andalusia to the tanneries of Igualada in Catalonia.

Igualada is particularly relevant to Atelier Madre. The studio sources its leather from tanneries there, maintaining a connection with a regional industry that has been processing hides for centuries.

Vegetable tanning is an important part of the studio’s approach. This traditional method uses tannins derived from plant materials to transform hides into leather. It produces a material that can develop rich color and character over time.

Working with this kind of leather requires patience and an understanding of how the material behaves. It can vary in texture and appearance, and the maker needs to account for those characteristics when cutting and assembling a piece.

Watching the artisans at work, you begin to appreciate just how much judgment goes into what might look like a straightforward bag.

Keeping the making visible

What stayed with me most after visiting Atelier Madre was the openness of the place. The workshop is visible, the artisans are approachable, and customers can see the time and skill involved in creating the objects around them. You might arrive to look at a bag and leave having learned something about leather, stitching or the choices behind a particular design.

There’s also a welcome sense of individuality. Although the studio has a recognizable design language, the pieces are made by people working directly with the material, each responsible for bringing an object to completion.

For FrikiFish, spaces like this are an important part of Barcelona’s creative landscape. They bring together design, practical skills and everyday encounters with the public. They also offer opportunities to see contemporary makers at work, something that can easily be overlooked when we think about the city’s art and design scene.

Atelier Madre is a good reminder that creativity often happens in the middle of ordinary working days, all you need to do to discover it is walk through an open door.

A big thanks to the team at Atelier Madre for welcoming me in and showing me around.

Visit Atelier Madre
Carrer del Rec 20, 08003 Barcelona
www.manuel-dreesmann.com