Leather goods are in, as summer transitions into fall, and the season's colours tone down to more ambient tones. El Darwesh Handmade – an online handicraft goods store in Cairo – is catering to that with their all-leather goods, handmade and designed by the young Hassan El Darwesh.

Hassan, a self-taught designer, began creating the bags when he was 18. Four years later, his business really took off, however he hasn't resorted to mass production quite yet."Hassan enjoys the process of making these goods with his own hands," El Darwesh Handmade's rep told CairoScene. "We have a lot of the products available several exhibits around the country, and many more in Hassan's warehouse – where he creates these goods."

El Darwesh Handmade sells a range of products that are essential to your everyday needs – such as notebooks, backpacks, cross bags, duffel bags, leather wallets and camera straps. They are also "built to last" according to Darwesh, meaning they are made to endure bad weather, as natural leather is wont to.The designs are all usually plain, simple and minimalist, a preference of the founder's own taste. The main materials used in his collections are leather and suede, sometimes touched up with colourful embroidery, such as X's and dashes to complete the bag's final look. And, like most handmade products, each item has its own special aura.