Company means no more hell for leather

A new leather-making firm in Walsall is flying in the face of economic gloom and recruiting new staff in the town despite only being founded two months ago.

Nubu England has been set up by Walsall couple, Alfonso Vecchio and his wife-to-be Kelly Barlow, who have joined forces with Kelly's father's business Alpha Leather in Charles Street, Walsall. The firm makes everything from wedding photo albums to wallets and other small leather items and business is booming already says Mr Vecchio.

He will marry his fiancee in four weeks.

The firm has even been able to offer jobs to those made redundant at the historic Daines and Hathaway firm, which went into administration earlier this month after more than 80 years in the town. And Nubu is already on the lookout for bigger premises in the town to cope with demand and increase the workforce.

Nubu England specialises in handmade luxury wedding albums. It was formed just two months ago with support from Black Country Chamber of Commerce and Business Link West Midlands, which provided the company with a business start up grant.

The leather making side of the business is provided by Alpha Leather which has around 12 years history in the town run by Des Osborne.

Mr Vecchio, managing director of Nubu England, said: "Despite only being in existence for such a short time we are still pleased with the success of the company so far and are already planning to recruit and train more staff into this skilled profession.

"Our professional range of albums, which will be sold to wedding photographers, are individually designed and are more than a match for albums produced elsewhere in the world, both in terms of quality and price."

Nubu is now looking further afield by working with UK Trade & Investment to explore export possibilities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Walsall has seen a decline in its leather making industry when hundreds of firms used to operate in the town.