Mermaid Leather

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY ROSIE HENDERSON

In 1989, two local ocean lovers and fishermen joined forces, with a passion for turning waste into a vibrant quality leather product and business. Andrew MacDermott had developed an interest in tanning, learning traditional tanning methods from his local mate, Steve Bradley. It was at a party that it was suggested he try fish skins, which he began sourcing locally. That led him to R. W. (Bob) Bubb, a local fisherman. Together, they learnt the art of creating leather from fish, and Mermaid Leather was born.

Mermaid Leather became fully commercial in 1994, after the purchase of industrial tanning machines, allowing an increase in tanning output. The establishment of the business was a new venture, something not many people had done before. “Drew, in the pre-internet days, used to travel to the State Library in Perth to study the archives and find out the history of fish leather, ” recalls David MacDermott. “It’s arguably one of the oldest leathers in the world, with its use dating back to early medieval cultures – Japanese sword handle bindings, and the Vikings using shark skin as a grip.”

David is Andrew's younger brother, who entered the business in 2000 after returning to Esperance from travelling and working as a chef. David is now the main ‘mermaid’ in the business, becoming the sole owner in 2019. He’s passionate about the art, and the focus on using waste and creating sustainably. “All you need to do is take a walk around the filleting processing plant and you visually see the waste – fish heads, scales, skin,” says David. “It was decided early on in Mermaid Leather’s journey that we’d focus on that waste and identify skins that could be used and turned into a commodity.”

Mermaid Leather source a variety of fish skins locally, including blue groper, queen snapper, pink snapper, breaksea, boar fish, and shark, each with unique patterns and qualities. The only fish David sources from elsewhere is saltwater barramundi, which is supplied by a saltwater licence holder in Derby. “It was also decided early on that we would buy the skins, to create value in that waste, ” David says. “Money is a driving factor in our society, and by paying for those skins, we create value in the waste – encouraging processors to recycle that waste if they’re making even a small profit in return.”

David says it’s about shifting our outlook on waste and putting a value on it and its possible uses. Mermaid Leather uses 98 per cent of the product they receive, the only waste being the offcuts of meats that they aren’t permitted to use. They not only use the skins, but every waste product that comes from their tanning process – the scales that are removed from the leather are used as a plastic alternative to create earrings and are sold for crafting activities, and the flock (leather fluff) that is generated in the sanding process is used to create handmade paper, which is sold in store and used in arts and crafts. ⟶

The process of turning fish skins into leather and eventually products is done in two programs – the first part during winter when David processes the raw fish skins, first fleshing the fish and removing any meat from the skin. He then removes the scales using a washing process to avoid damaging the skin and scale pockets that create the beautiful pattern on the skins, before pickling and preserving the skins and storing them until the next part of the process, which happens in summer. When the warmer months come around, the finishing work is done. This is when the skins are tanned and dyed, dried, sanded, and glazed to finish.

Once processed, the leather is turned into a variety of products including purses, wallets, belts, fridge magnets, earrings, and key rings. These products are either finished in house by David, or made in Perth. “What I find fish leather works well on is trim, in vehicles, seats, motorcycles, features on footwear, and in fashion,” he says. Mermaid Leather has had their fish leather featured around the world, with a photo pinned up in the shed showing a model wearing a fish leather design on cat walks in Hong Kong. Moving forward, David says he’s excited to keep focusing on sustainability practices and expanding that into other fishers. “I’ve been talking with people in the Northern Territory barra fishery industry, which is exciting,” he says. “I also want to focus on keeping the products as locally made as possible, to try and focus on that sustainability picture by locally manufacturing wherever possible.”

V Isit M Ermaid L Eather

Mermaid Leather is located at 6 Woods Street, with the shed doors open to the public from Tuesday - Sunday between 2pm - 5pm. Pop past for a tour by David, who has a video presentation ready to go. You can also see the tools involved in the processing of the skins, and the products created from them. It’s amazing to see what can be created when waste is looked at in a different way!