Erwin’s Leather Balm is a small family owned business from the small Dutch village of Woerden in north-west of Europe. Founder and name-giver Erwin Giezen is an artisan and handcrafts all kind of durable leather goods. Therefore, he always used this natural hand blended (old family recipe), to proof and finishes his leather items before they were sold.
Next to this he always delivered his goods with a small tin of this traditional blend to its customers, so they could repeatedly nourish their leather heritage goods in addition to extend its good looks and lifetime. After a short while people where asking specifically for this special blend and how it’s called. From that great moment on he decided to call it “Erwin’s leather Balm”. And share this tradition with the world.
BEST ALTERNATIVE
Nowadays we strive to make the world a little better place for our kids and next generations. We want to be the best alternative and counterweight to all the un-natural and industrial made balms available in stores all over the globe. Our ingredients are fair, simple and absolutely no secret. We use 100% pure pine oil, almond oil, cacao butter & organic beeswax which will preserve, restore and waterproof all your leather goods. It will give back your leathers original gleam, keeps it supple and protects it against the elements that dry and age leather.
The blend we use is fairly much older than we might know, but 1983 is the year this family tradition and old recipe was put on paper for the first time.
This year has a special place in our hearts. To honor this great year it has a featured place on our logo. It’s also mends to give good fortune for whoever Erwin’s might use.
I’m Erwin Giezen, 36 years old and founder of Erwin’s Leather Balm.
After studying engineering architecture and business & retail management, I worked as a bartender, technical designer at an architect and stand constructor and as of today, I still work as Head Marketing & Communications with an international plants breeding company.
As we said, we are a small family business. As Erwin, his name is associated with the company, but we do things as a family.
Me and my wife Marieka have also two lovely small and headstrong children, a girl and a boy.
We are also the people behind the popular leather aprons brand SPEKLAB®.
ORIGINS
Erwin’s origins lie in the small Dutch village of Woerden in the province of Utrecht. It’s famous for its (Gouda) cheese and called the capital city of “The Green Heart of Holland”.
Woerden was founded as a settlement or castellum called Laurum (Laurium) by the Romans. It was part of the northern (Limes) border of the Roman empire along the (old) Rhine river. It’s on the 2021 list for nomination of UNESCO world heritage. Woerden lies nearby the beautiful and famous (touristic) cities Linschoten, Oudewater & Gouda.
The green heart of Holland is a typical Dutch nature area in the center of the Netherlands. Residents and urban visitors can often find rest and many green spaces with dikes, windmills, Dutch cows, cheese, farms and traditional crafts. It has picturesque villages, vast nature reserves and its leisure lakes, ideal for water sports. Cities inside “The Green Heart” include Zoetermeer, Alphen aan den Rijn, Gouda, Woerden and the smaller cities of Schoonhoven, Oudewater, Haastrecht, Nieuwkoop, Montfoort, Waddinxveen, Bodegraven and Boskoop.
As we are proud and thankful Dutch people we wanted to tell you something about this tiny country we owe a lot too. Its called The Netherlands, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Nederland, Holland, les Pays-Bas, lower countries, lowlands etc. Its located in the north-western of Europe and they call us Dutch which is also our language. Not to be confused with Deutsch, this is what our neighbours in Germany, in Austria and Switzerland speak. The largest cities are Amsterdam (capitol), Rotterdam, The Hague or s‑Gravenhage “if you can pronounce that” and Utrecht.
PARTNERS
SPEKLAB® leather aprons is also founded by Erwin Giezen and his wife and photographer Marieka Ratsma.
SPEKLAB® aprons are made of the best quality leather. Every apron is handmade by order in our small workshop and only sold through our store and Etsy shop and therefore limited and unique. The rough appearance indicates that wearing one is more than only an apron, it’s a Way of Life. It stands for a Burgundian lifestyle and nature in general. This reflects also our motto: Enjoy life, but be respectful for all that lives or has lived.
A SPEKLAB® apron is raw & simplistic, it will only be more beautiful as it is used more frequently. We also want to limit our ecological footprint by working as efficiently as possible with our high quality leather, and therefore we buy our hides in small (rest) parties. And that makes our aprons timeless.
