Anita Hopper

At a time when other 50-somethings look toward retirement, Anita Hopper found a new purpose in life. She started ReFind Originals, a business repurposing old leather.

“I want to encourage others, and especially women who may think they are too old to start something,” Anita says. “It really is true a person is never too old to start doing something they love. Sometimes it’s risky, but the risks are worth it when you see what you can accomplish.”

A leather jacket in a thrift store launched her journey.

“I loved the worn-in, organic look of the leather and thought if I could find a leather bag that looked and felt like that, it would be the perfect handbag,” she explains. “I wondered if I could make a bag out of the jacket, even though I had never made a bag, or worked with leather; but I liked the idea, bought the jacket and took it home to see what I could do with it.”

Experience told her she could do quite a lot. Anita started sewing as a young child, and she taught herself how to work with leather through trial and error.

Anita says “each type of leather is unique,” so she can never predict how a finished bag will look. She lets the leather’s texture, color and worn-in properties inspire her.

“Most of the time I just let the lines, stitching, pockets, or any other features of a garment be the inspiration for a particular bag,” says the Marion County artisan, whose goal is to make something from recycled materials that doesn’t look recycled.

“When I explain my process and that everything I make is one-of-a-kind and made from recycled materials, they are amazed at what can be done with something that has been discarded,” she says.