Leather Me Tender: Esartia

We all know recycling is good for the planet, but LA-based designer Khatia Esartia has proven that it also does wonders for our wardrobes. After graduating from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2005, Esartia was left with a pile of leather scraps from her final fashion design project. While other designers might have relegated these remnants to the trash bin, Esartia turned them into a cuff bracelet, which soon led to the birth of her namesake jewelry brand.

"I hate throwing things out—in fashion school, you don't have a lot of money, so you need to work with what you've got," she explains. "I knew I wanted to design, but didn't have the money to start a fashion collection right away." The resulting jewelry line is composed of two different collections, each one representing a region of Georgia from which Esartia's family is descended. Megreli contains softer, more feminine pieces, embellished with ribbons and Swarovski crystal "flowers," while the Guruli range uses semi-precious stones such as jet and pearls to a streamlined, modern effect.

Esartia's cuffs, earrings, rings and necklaces may not be made from scraps any more, but their design naturally lends itself to minimal material waste. Each piece is cut from lambskin leather to the buyer's specified size and then sewn together by hand. "I work with non-traditional materials because it gives me the chance to express my voice as a designer in a unique way," says Esartia. "It's taken me three years to get my label to where I want it to be, and I haven't even scratched the surface of what's possible." If that's the case, we can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

—Erin Magner