Alexis Saab on launching Back Home, expanding beyond custom sneakers, and building a leather goods brand
Alexis Saab joins Matt Roach for a follow-up conversation on the shift from custom footwear into small leather goods.
After years of working on custom sneakers, Alexis is building a new brand called Back Home, focused on wallets and leather goods that can stand on their own without depending on another footwear brand’s silhouette.
The conversation moves through logo design, leather stamps, the difference between chrome tan and veg tan, and why simplicity matters when branding leather. Alexis also breaks down what makes sneakers so time-consuming: patterns, lasts, machinery, sole attachment, hidden mistakes, and the stress of long custom timelines.
Matt and Alexis compare shoemaking to wallet making, talk through post-bed machines, bell skivers, workshop space, tool maintenance, and the challenge of charging fairly for work that takes years to learn. They also get into community, content, and Alexis’s long-term goal of creating his own footwear silhouette.
For anyone building leather goods, thinking about footwear, or trying to develop a brand voice through product design, this is a grounded look at craft evolution in real time.
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