About Pictavia Leather
Pictavia is an ancient word that refers to Pictland, the kingdom of the Picts which encompassed what is now the North and East of modern day Scotland.
Pictavia Leather is owned and run by Hamish Lamley, a Scottish artist/craftsman from Aberdeenshire, though now based in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland.
All leather products and tattoos are designed and made by Hamish.
Hamish has over 15 years of experience in traditional leatherworking, and through years of research and experimental archaeology has worked hard to explore Pictish culture. Hamish has consulted on, and starred in, various television shows to talk about the Picts and showcase Pictish culture, and is even featured in archaeology books for his work.
Hamish is also a tattoo artist specialising in Pictish tattooing under Pictavia Tattoo, and he runs the Ancient Caledonia Camp each year in the Scottish wilderness.
About Hamish
I began teaching myself leatherwork whilst bedbound for several years. It provided a way to focus my mind, and gave me a lot of time to pursue another avenue to researching my passion for history and archaeology.
For me Leatherwork is also about function. I use traditional methods because they have also been developed over thousands of years, and are often the most functional and practical. I want my work to outlive me, and so I strive to create the most durable works to combine function and beauty.
Leatherwork is my connection to the past. It is my way to solve problems as our ancestors did, to work at my own pace and see the world as they did.
I grew up in Aberdeenshire playing on Pictish stones, absorbing as much of it as I could.
Later in life I lived in Norway for a time teaching viking leatherworking to people, which led me to rediscover my own culture when I returned to Scotland.
It is my passion to recreate ancient Pictish artwork from the stone carvings and manuscripts, bringing the old medium back to life in leather, and to research and produce historic replicas based on archaeological finds. I am also able to do this with my tattoo work, in order to connect with Pictish culture through body art using the same symbols and carvings from the time and the same methods. See my Pictish living history work here.
Another passion is building leather boats. I have helped to build and sail a 40ft long leather catamaran boat in Norway and now build traditional hide coracles here in Scotland alongside other craftsfolk, both of which you can read about in my blog (bottom posts).
