Willow Leather is at a turning point.
Amber Willow makes genuinely beautiful handmade leather bags and accessories from her studio in Hertfordshire. She's been featured in Country Living, exhibited at Top Drawer (selected for the Launchpad emerging talent section), sells through Not On The High Street and Holly & Co, and uses quality materials — vegetable-tanned Italian leather and cactus vegan leather. The product is real. But the online presence depends almost entirely on Instagram and marketplace listings. The Shopify website needs work, there's no presence beyond Instagram, and the brand has almost no reviews visible to anyone searching online.
Amber Willow founded Willow Leather in 2019. She has a Fashion Design degree from Northampton University and previously taught secondary school textiles. Every piece is designed and handcrafted by her — this is a genuine one-woman operation. The range spans from £10.50 leather bookmarks to £186 signature halfmoon crossbody bags, with personalisation available across most products.
Each category scored 0–5. Click to expand the evidence.
The fundamentals are mostly in place. The Shopify site works, products are listed with prices, payments are accepted, and there's an about page. But there are some gaps:
On-site reviews exist via Judge.me but they're invisible to anyone who hasn't already found the website. There are no reviews on Google (no listing), no Trustpilot profile, no Facebook reviews, and no Etsy reviews. Customer feedback found through research is positive — "excellent quality leather", "addicted to the accessories", quick service — but it's scattered and doing no work.
The products themselves make a strong impression — the halfmoon bags are distinctive, the leather looks quality, the marbling technique is eye-catching. The Instagram feed shows the work well. The Shopify site is functional but the Brooklyn theme is dated. The site doesn't feel as premium as the product.
The core message comes through: handmade leather bags, made in England, from good materials. What's less clear is what makes Willow Leather different from the dozens of other handmade leather brands in the UK.
Products are listed with prices, descriptions, and photography. The range is well structured. But product pages could do more.
The site has very little written content for search engines to index. Two blog posts, basic product descriptions, and a short about page.
Instagram is the only active social channel with ~4,695 followers. For a handmade brand running since 2019, this is a solid but modest following.
Despite genuine press features (Country Living, Hertfordshire Life) and trade show credentials (Top Drawer Launchpad), none of this appears on the website.
This is a genuine strength. Multiple active channels: own website, Not On The High Street (3 years), Holly & Co (65 products), Ankorstore wholesale, Radical Living stockist, and Top Drawer trade shows.
The basics work: Shopify is proven, payments go through, products ship, wholesale runs through Ankorstore. Judge.me is installed for reviews.
Start with these three quick wins.
"Handmade Leather Large Halfmoon Crossbody Bag" is better than "Best Handmade Leather Large Halfmoon Shoulder Bag." Quick find-and-replace across product titles.
Country Living logo, Hertfordshire Life logo, Top Drawer Launchpad badge. A simple row of logos above the fold instantly adds credibility.
Clear expected dispatch time. If personalised items take longer, say so.
Where this brand shows up online - and where it doesn't.
Ideas matched to this brand's strengths and audience.
How a halfmoon bag goes from a sheet of leather to a finished product. The cutting, stitching, hardware fitting, quality check. Works on the blog, Instagram, and Pinterest.
What Nopal cactus leather is, where it comes from, how it's grown and processed, why it's a genuine alternative to traditional leather.
"How to care for vegetable-tanned leather" — practical, helpful, and exactly what customers search for after buying.
"Personalised leather gifts under £50", "Leather gifts for her". Pages people search for every year. Write once, update each season.
Top Drawer preparation, what it's like exhibiting, the reactions from buyers. Shows the person behind the brand.
Detailed product pages, an "Our Story" page, material guides, and a FAQ all give AI tools something to draw on. Right now there's not enough.
Your audit scored 2.3 out of 5. The product and distribution are strong — the online presence isn't keeping up. Here's what we'd do about it.
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You are helping Amber Willow act on a brand audit of Willow Leather. Here's what the audit found. Willow Leather is a handmade leather goods brand run by Amber Willow from her studio in Hertfordshire. She founded it in 2019 after a Fashion Design degree and teaching secondary textiles. Every piece is designed and handcrafted by her - genuine one-woman operation. The range spans from £10.50 leather bookmarks to £186 signature halfmoon crossbody bags, using vegetable-tanned Italian leather and Nopal cactus vegan leather. She sells through her own Shopify site, Not On The High Street, Holly & Co (65 products), Ankorstore wholesale, and stockists like Radical Living. She was selected for Top Drawer Launchpad and has been featured in Country Living and Hertfordshire Life. The audit scored 10 areas out of 5: - Broken Basics: 3/5. Site works, products listed with prices, payments accepted. But product titles use "Best" as a keyword-stuffing prefix. Blog has only 2 posts (worse than no blog). Multiple third-party scripts may be slowing the site. - Reputation & Reviews: 1/5. Judge.me reviews exist on-site but they're invisible to anyone who hasn't already found the website. No Google Business listing, no Trustpilot, no external reviews anywhere. - First Impression & Brand: 3/5. Products make a strong impression - halfmoon bags are distinctive, marbling technique is eye-catching. But the Brooklyn Shopify theme is dated and doesn't feel as premium as the product. - Messaging Clarity: 3/5. Core message comes through (handmade, English, good materials). What's less clear is what makes Willow Leather different from dozens of other handmade leather brands. Marbling, cactus leather, and personalisation are genuine differences but they're not the headline. - Product Presentation: 3/5. Products listed with prices, descriptions, and photography. But missing lifestyle photos, material close-ups, and the cactus leather story. - Discoverability & SEO: 1/5. Very little written content. Two blog posts. No Google Business Profile. No Pinterest. AI tools have almost nothing to work with. - Social Presence: 2/5. Instagram only with ~4,695 followers. No Pinterest - the single biggest gap for a visual product brand selling bags, accessories, and gifts. - Content & Authority: 1/5. Despite Country Living, Hertfordshire Life features and Top Drawer Launchpad selection, none of this appears on the website. No press page, no "As seen in", no mention of Top Drawer. - Sales Channels: 4/5. The strongest area. Multiple active channels for a solo maker: own site, NOTHS, Holly & Co, Ankorstore wholesale, Radical Living, Top Drawer. Impressive distribution. - Operations Signals: 2/5. Shipping times, return policies, and personalisation turnaround aren't easy to find. Handmade-to-order products need clear expectation setting. The pattern: the product is real and the distribution is impressive (4/5), but the online presence doesn't match. The website doesn't tell the story, press features aren't shown, and there's no presence on the platforms where people discover handmade goods (Pinterest especially). Prioritised actions: This week (quick wins): 1. Remove "Best" from all product titles. "Handmade Leather Large Halfmoon Crossbody Bag" is better than "Best Handmade Leather Large Halfmoon Shoulder Bag." Quick find-and-replace. 2. Add an "As featured in" section to the homepage. Country Living logo, Hertfordshire Life logo, Top Drawer Launchpad badge. Simple row of logos. 3. Add "Handmade to order" messaging to product pages. Clear expected dispatch time. If personalised items take longer, say so. 4. Set up a Google Business Profile. Enables reviews, helps local discovery. 5. Either commit to the blog or hide it. Two old posts looks abandoned. Write one fresh post about Top Drawer, or remove the blog link. This month: 1. Set up Pinterest. The single most valuable new channel. People on Pinterest are looking for things to buy. Create boards, upload product images. 2. Set up Trustpilot and start collecting reviews. After every sale, request a review. Even 10-15 genuine reviews changes the picture. 3. Write a proper "Our Story" page. Textiles teacher who chose slow fashion, taught herself leatherwork, built a brand from a Hertfordshire studio. Tell it properly. 4. Write a "Cactus Leather" content page. Most people have never heard of Nopal cactus leather. Interesting to read and would rank well. 5. Add lifestyle photography to product pages. Show bags being carried, worn cross-body, in real settings. 6. Review Shopify apps and scripts. GTM, Judge.me, hCaptcha, Adoric, NFCube, Instagram widget - run PageSpeed and remove what's not needed. 90 days: 1. Consider upgrading the Shopify theme. Brooklyn is dated. Dawn or Sense would better reflect product quality. 2. Build a content plan around making and materials. One post a month: how a bag is made, where leather comes from, the marbling process, leather care. 3. Create a press/stockist page. All features, shows, and stockists in one place. 4. Build an email list properly. Give people a reason to sign up. Monthly email. 5. Write product descriptions for search engines and AI. Each page should tell a mini-story. Strengths to build on: - Genuine craftsmanship: every piece handmade by one person - Distinctive product: halfmoon crossbody shape, marbled leather, personalisation - Quality materials with a story: vegetable-tanned Italian leather and Nopal cactus vegan leather - Real press coverage: Country Living, Hertfordshire Life, The Homeworker - Trade show momentum: Top Drawer Launchpad selection, confirmed for September 2026 - Multi-channel sales: own site, NOTHS, Holly & Co, Ankorstore, Radical Living - Slow fashion philosophy: fashion degree holder who chose craft over mass production How to work with Amber: - Start with the good news. The Sales Channels score (4/5) is genuinely impressive for a solo maker. Acknowledge that before getting into what needs fixing. - Ask what resonated and what felt wrong. She knows her business. The audit is based on public information - she may have context that changes some findings. - Pinterest is probably the single highest-impact new action. If she's open to it, help her set up a business account in the session. Create the first few boards together. - The "Best" prefix on product titles is a quick find-and-replace in Shopify admin. Walk through the exact steps: Products > select all > edit titles. - For the "As featured in" section, help her find or request logos. Country Living, Top Drawer Launchpad - these are credible names that instantly add trust. - She's one person making everything by hand. Be honest about capacity. Don't suggest she starts TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest simultaneously. Pinterest is the priority for her product type. - The cactus leather story is genuinely interesting content. If she's willing, help her draft it. Where does the cactus come from? How does it feel? How does it age? This writes itself. - When working on the "Our Story" page, help her find the right tone. Not corporate. A maker talking about why she makes things. - The blog decision is real: two abandoned posts is worse than no blog. If she doesn't have time to write regularly, remove the link. If she does, help her write the first post about Top Drawer.
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