Scaramanga is a gorgeous brand offering vintage leather bags and original vintage furniture, for those who want an old-school taste of luxury.
Here, The Breakdown meets with Carl Morenikeji about the brand’s founding story, and about the importance of upcycling – something that can be very therapeutic for your mental health.
Read below for our fascinating Q+A with Carl.
When was Scaramanga founded, and what is the backstory behind the brand?
After spending 6 months in India I brought back an old leather satchel, handbound journals and a few old wooden boxes. Friends and family loved everything and I felt there was an opportunity to start a business selling restored interiors and making leather satchels. So in 2006 I took £2,000 and a couple of empty suitcases to India and Scaramanga was established. Over time we expanded our range of bags and leather accessories to 100 and now source everything you might want for a home from furniture, to decorative pieces to old doors and windows.
How passionate are you about upcycling, and do you think it can be good for your wellbeing? Perhaps therapeutic?
I love reusing something that’s come to the end of its life and turning it into something else. Around 25% of what we sell has been upcycled and ranges from wall planters made from old iron buckets to old carriage clock cases turned into mini display cabinets to antique drawers turned into trays.
Yes, there’s a great sense of achievement when something that would often be thrown away or recycled because part of it is broken is turned into something different with a new use. I get a sense something has been given a new lease of life when an upcycled piece has been finished. We work with vintage and antique pieces so there’s always a story to what the piece was used for before. By upcycling the item is embarking on another chapter of its story!
Upcycling doesn’t need to be complicated, and you don’t need a lot of technical, carpentry or metalworking skills to upcycle. I worked with my children to upcycle an old suitcase with a broken hinge that could not be repaired. We simply separated the lid from the body and found some old cushions and placed them inside the two parts to make vintage beds for their cats!
Do you think decor has any impact on your mental health, such as theme colours, for example – yellow for happiness?
Yes, definitely. The spaces in our homes are settings for so many important and stressful times in our lives. So our personal spaces need to provide comfort, support and positive emotional energy.
So the way we furnish, the colours, textures and materials we choose and how we arrange and set out spaces will all have a significant impact on our well-being and sense of feeling safe. So bright sunlit rooms boost happiness. A sense of spaciousness – from open spaces with minimal clutter can lift your mood. This can be further enhanced by bringing in nature in the form of plants and flowers.
Colours are one of the most mood-altering interior design elements. People refer to reds, oranges and yellows as ‘warm colours’ while greens and blues are ‘cool’. When we are in rooms that feature warm-coloured rooms, we feel physically warmer. Cool colours make us feel cooler. That’s one of the reasons reds are so popular in the winter, while turquoise and teal are more popular in warm weather. And of course, each colour has associated psychological effects as you suggest.
How do upcycling and decor mix with your wellbeing?
Answered from my personal view.
I love eclectically styled spaces. Mixing and matching styles, eras and periods so no one style dominates. My tips would be to make it personal. Most notable eclectic interiors are filled with striking personal finds: gifted, inherited, bought on eBay, found in skips, collected on holiday. They all have stories to tell and a unique history. Together they combine to create a look you can call your own. A willingness to embrace difference decorative arts and elements is essential and no single style is essential.
What type of product would you recommend for someone who wants to lift their mood?
We all have different tastes and it would be extremely dull if we all liked the same thing. So I would say that a home is about surrounding yourself (and your loved ones) with things that are personal and have a meaning. I’m drawn to eclectic interior decor and my home is filled with items that have an interesting story and character of their own. I love travelling but haven’t been away since well before Covid. I recently bought a large old school wall map of the world. of course, you can probably guess we’re planning our next trip away! And reminiscing about previous trips around the world.
Why do you encourage upcycling and does it have an impact on your mood?
Upcycling is a way to reduce waste that may have been consigned to landfill or at the very least reduces the amount energy used to recycle items. You don’t need to be an expert to enjoy upcycling. There’s a vibrant community of upcyclers and you can easily handy upcycling guides online. It definitely improves my mood to see something created out of something that does not have currently have a use. Often we need the help of experts whether an electrician or blacksmith or another artisan. It’s also a great way to meet like-minded people who don’t like to see things thrown away. Once complete there’s always a great sense of achievement.
Which are some of your best-selling products, and why do you think this is?
We sell many vintage printers cases. They were used by printers to store and organise their type fonts. The small compartments make them ideal for displaying small collections or for photos and those small little things we collect throughout of lives and perhaps store in drawers. The cases allow these curios to be displayed.
With their simple industrial form and time-worn edges our old brick moulds are also very popular. People use them for everything from planters to mini wall shelving units to bathroom tidies to kitchen spice boxes.
Do you have any new launches coming up in the coming weeks/months?
Yes, we’ve just received our summer stock. Lots of original bright colourful armoires, cupboards and cabinets. Of course, lots of upcycled interiors too; including small planters made from old tins and drums and old cooking pots turned into fire bowls. We’re also launching a range of waxed canvas bags and accessories.
