Born and raised in Bristol, Connecticut, Randall has lived in New York State’s Catskill Mountain region for over five decades. While a student at Hartwick College, located in Oneonta, NY, Randall Herold participated in an independent study program in anthropology. He traveled to Israel and Egypt and, upon returning to the U.S. to continue his studies, developed an interest in Native American culture. He attended the Navajo Community College (now Diné College) and lived in Chinle, Arizona as a student for a year, where his love of leatherwork was born. He began his leathermaking career as a shoemaker, later turning his focus to custom-designed handbags.

Each one-of-a-kind Randall Herold bag is individually designed, crafted, and produced solely by the artist, using the highest quality Italian leathers, unique precious and semi-precious findings, and details for accent. With as many as 150 hand-cut pieces and components that require multiple forming and stitching processes including French binding, every cut and stitch is faithful to balance – whether symmetrical or asymmetrical – and Old-World craftsmanship. Randall boldly integrates contemporary fashion – the sleek and polished – with primordial impulse – the dynamic and practical. It is by this attitude to the highest quality materials, to his tools, and in his understanding of the needs his products serve that we recognize the essential artisan in Randall Herold.