Photo of Heidi Semetka & Angus Plate.
Inspiration WOW! -- with SANCIA! This label understands what we want - luxurious materials, stunning details, traditional craftsmanship, and clean shapes. Designer Heidi Semetka and Photographer Angus Plate are responsible for this magic. Their website reads, “Each bag tells a story.” What a wonderful sentiment. I can’t wait to venture out with my gorgeous, SANCIA bag and create a new story. Learn more about these designers and their unique, creative process, in the interview, below:
Designer(s): Heidi Semetka & Angus Plate
Star Sign(s): Virgo {Heidi} / Sagittarius {Angus}
Sancia . . . if you had to describe it in three words, what would they be?
Sancia is a unique soul. She is a dreamer, a wanderer, & a lover
Heidi & Angus, where do you call home?
Home, right now, is Sydney Australia. But home to us has been many places; we were both born in Australia, but have lived overseas for extended periods of time, both as little children and big children.
What is the best part of your job?
The ability to combine two of our passions; design/photography, and the unexplainable sense of satisfaction achieved through creating a beautiful product that carries our soul and essence.
We share a mutual love for travel. Please share your favorite destination, and if/how this place influences your creations?
The concept of SANCIA was born somewhere on the hot roads of Mexico, so for us, the core cultural fibres of cities like Guanajuato and Oaxaca will always remain as one of cherished inspiration points. It was in these evocative cities that we fell in love with thick, lush leather, and traditional carving techniques used by local artisans and saddle smiths. It was this experience of grandiose history and romance that inspired us to explore the world, building meaningful relationships with local craftsmen and living our dream of conjoined creativity.
Your label evokes a sense of aliveness and freedom. How do you connect to this kind of creativity? How do you continually keep it fresh?
Thank you. Travel is the number one inspiration for our label. You can’t help but feel inspired and creative from exploring new places; the smells, the colours, the textures and culture. Travel helps you stay curious, it makes you explore the experience of being alive. When you travel you get to see life from a different perspective, and that is what we believe helps keep our label fresh and inspired . . . and, we hope, inspiring.
I think Terry Pratchett summed it up best when he said, "Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving"
In a world of mass produced products, we want to, not only create pieces that are unique in style, but that are also, individually unique. Our hardware is custom designed, our carving is literally done by hand, and we custom dye all our leather.
Therefore, for those lucky enough to buy a SANCIA piece, they can rest assured that their piece is utterly unique . . . No two pieces will ever be exactly the same.
If Sancia were a song, it would be . . . ?
‘This must be the place’ by Talking Heads.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
This is actually quite a hard one! Each person has their own experiences and points of view, and throughout our lives, we have all received plenty of different advice, whether we take it take it onboard, or not. We think it’s important to view every life change as an opportunity; learn from your mistakes as well as your success. Stay true to yourself, keep learning, listen deeply and be kind - kindness is underrated. Most of all – trust your instincts.
Go pick out your favorite bag.
→ SANCIA ↲
Peace, Love & Good Chocolate
PARIS ♡
