I still remember the day we first met Anna and Justine, the founders of an.ju. We were out pitching the idea of ledge to founders in their ateliers and shops, and their studio in Munich instantly stood out.

Behind the name “an.ju” are these two people: Anna and Justine. Justine, originally an architect in France, retrained in fine leather craftsmanship in Italy before opening her own atelier in 2017. Anna joined later, and together they’ve built a cross-generational studio that treats leatherwork as both craft and design practice – keeping the almost-forgotten art of fine bag making alive with a modern eye.

Their idea of sustainability is refreshingly concrete: timeless design, local production, exceptional materials, and pieces that can be repaired, customised and personalised instead of replaced.

What really stayed with me, though, is their Forget Me Not project – an upcycling line that takes existing high-quality bags and reworks them into new favourites, extending their life instead of letting them gather dust in a wardrobe. It’s a small but powerful counter to the throwaway logic of fast fashion, and a perfect snapshot of what an.ju studio stands for: leather goods with memory, intention and a future.