ABOUT ME
My name is Boris. I'm a bespoke leather goods designer and founder of our small studio. I've been building things with my hands for as long as I can remember and you could say that creating the Boris Stark line is the culmination of a lifelong journey.
When I was growing up, we never had nice things around. I was born in a post-communist country devastated by the changing regimes, so even if you were wealthy, there was nothing you could really buy. The only things we had worth keeping were passed down by my great-grandparents — pens, briefcases and other heirlooms that are nowadays nothing more than commodities.
For us, that's what luxury looked like and it had nothing to do with price. Everything was cherished, looked after and repaired, never replaced. That's where I learned the value of craftsmanship, which developed into an obsession with understanding how things are built and led me to become a hands-on designer myself.
I pursued my passion and later went on to study Industrial Design in the UK, where I started to gain an interest in functional accessories. To me, it was a perfect blend of utility and artistic expression, which I felt was the true essence of product design. So, by the end of university, I was already dead set on starting my own brand of bags and travel essentials.
Fast-forward a few years, and the Boris Stark line was born, initially just as a passion project, while working a bunch of corporate jobs in the meantime. Today that's turned into a full-time business with a simple mission - to bring back dignity, excellence and innovation into the world of fine leather goods.
Design Philosophy
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I came into the world of leathercraft through Industrial Design, not fashion, so I never really paid much attention to trends or icons. My focus has always been on creating products that serve a clear purpose and are simply a delight to use. I believe an object's true beauty is achieved by removing all distractions and allowing for its purest form to come forward.
I've had many inspirations throughout the years, but my biggest influence in overall philosophy comes from the legacy of Charles and Ray Eames. Their designs have become timeless icons not by drawing attention, but through subtle innovation and obsessive attention to detail. To me, that's one of the best examples of a perfect harmony between form, function, material and process. It's that exact principle that I've adopted in my own work — intricately beautiful and functional design, no more and no less than it needs to be.