Our long and winding story begins in 2008 in Boston, MA.  Originally started as a clothing and leather goods line, rennes was entirely handmade in house.  Until it wasn't, because making pieces in leather is hard when you don't have every machine under the sun.  Luckily, there was a pretty great workshop not too far from Boston, which is where the leather line was eventually made in full.   

Most mornings Julia would leave at 6am to drive an hour out to the factory and work with the pattern maker on the bags.  She learned a lot from Mike, Jim, and Bill!  Clothing was still made in the studio, and everything was a very hands on experience.  Towards the end of being in the Boston studio, there were six Juki's and other machines.  The first old Juki was bought off craigslist and is the only machine that is still at the shop today - sentimental, and just a great machine!

Between 2015-2016, the business pivoted towards carrying multiple brands online, and also had a pop up shop in Boston for a few months as well.  Slowly, over time it became clear that having a store seemed a bit more exciting than just having a studio and a house line - so the idea of opening a shop seemed like the way to go.  

It's around this time that rennes moved everything down to Philadelphia and the shop in Old City opened in April of 2017, and has been there ever since.  Incredibly sparse and minimal in the decor department, we were often asked "what is this?", something we are still asking ourselves, though there is more furniture now because it's hard to stop acquiring old antiques.

Still fiercely independent, and most certainly not a trust fund project the shop is a labor of love and true grit.  We like to keep things just a little bit different, so if that rings true - please feel right at home here and come say hi.  We believe in celebrating independent design, craftsmanship, and people who are doing cool stuff.  We hope you will visit!