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HISTORY: Established in San Francisco during the summer of 2001 by Romulus Von Stezelberger, South Paradiso Leather is currently one of the only existing leather crafters entirely dedicated to the sadly forgotten principals of true old-world craftsmanship, making clothing of only the highest possible quality, such as only can be done on a small scale with great attention payed to each individual piece made. Each one-of-a-kind item is carefully hand-made by South Paradiso's small team of specialists, with a big tip of the hat to Von Stezelberger's primary inspiration, the legendary San Francisco leather designers, East West Musical Instrument Company. Thirty to thirty-five years ago, East West, under the direction of its founder, Norman Stubbs, was arguably the most innovative leather clothing maker of all time. Known for for painstakingly detail and impeccable craftsmanship, East-West's now-rare and highly collectible hand-made pieces are today regarded as the Holy Grail of rock and roll fashion, not only for vintage clothing collectors, but for all those who appreciate the truly artistic in clothing design. Today this sort of quality has all but vanished from the fashion world, in which designer logos and price tags are more important than design or beauty. It is South Paradiso Leather's mission to bring art back to fashion, by picking up where East-West left off, using only the finest (and most expensive) materials, and the most skilled (and most expensive) artisans to create each one-of-a-kind jacket, belt, pant, bag, hat, wallet, necklace, bracelet, and shoe. Von Stezelberger's love of East-West has driven him to assemble the world's largest collection of the rarest East-West originals, and has also brought him into contact with many of the original team who made these works of art in the 1970's, includung East-West founder and mastermind, Norman Stubbs, who has given South Paradiso his enthusiastic blessings. Several of these talented personalities have offered Von Stezelberger their services, both in their unmatched leather-crafting know-how, and in offering some of their original East-West patterns and designs, some of which South Paradiso now reverently recreates, or in some cases makes for the first time since only a single prototype was made in the '70's. But in no way is South Paradiso simply an imitator. Though he, like any artist, pays due homage to his heroes, Von Stezelberger's artistic vision has taken creative leather design and quality craftsmanship to a level that even East-West could not have reached, with new designs being created almost daily, many with intricate applique, custom paintings, and stunning colors and textures. Now based in Los Angeles, South Paradsio Leather is rapidly becoming legendary in its own right, with pieces being sold in the most prestigious shops and boutiques around the world. Milan's highly exclusive and influential international showroom, L.A. Distribuzione, proudly represents Von Stezelberger's collection, alongside the likes of Chloe and Diane Von Furstenberg. And all the major stores in Japan (where Von Stezelberger's first collection was sybolically debuted in a highly-publicized show at Tokyo's famous Rocket Art Gallery, rather than via any of the usual fashion venues) are so impressed that some of them have set aside special sections of their stores just for South Paradsio Leather. And here in style-crazed California, East-West lovers, rock musicians, actors, and the general fashion elite have been finding their way to Von Stezelberger's far-out studio, a curious and colorful universe of rare vintage albums, toys, comic books,antique furniture, taxidermy, and leather, where the enigmatic Von Stezelberger, cigar in mouth, and drink in his hand, works out the exacting details of each individual leather outfit, each always guaranteed to blow minds everywhere.
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