A Letter to You
Why We Make Things by Hand
Thank you for being here. In a way, your arrival itself shows that something resonates between us — and that is especially precious today. Artificial intelligence is sweeping across the world, but we believe sport and handwork will never be replaced. Chess robots have long beaten the finest human players, and cars run far faster than any person, yet people still love to watch two people compete, and the spirit carried within that contest. Handwork is the same. At any time, its core is the person, and the bond between people. As long as people exist, this spirit of ours will live on.
Almost everyone in our workshop is an introvert, an “I” in MBTI terms. We once thought that only very outgoing people could build a brand and tell a story. Along the way, we have found that is not true. If we simply stay true to ourselves and act in line with our own character and values, the signal we send will naturally draw kindred spirits to us — people who value workmanship, feel and experience, and who do not blindly buy into big-brand narratives. The materials, the workmanship, the touch, the design — these are the essence of a product, nothing else. We hope every cent you spend goes toward exactly these things.
Please believe that people like you are far from few; in fact, their numbers keep growing. You are simply quieter, not the crowd that makes the noise online. We know this kind of reputation may build slowly, but it is remarkably solid and very hard to shake. It frees us from the pointless drain of industry rat-racing, discount marketing and endlessly having to defend a brand’s value, and lets us find a reasonable market position of our own. So let us walk boldly forward together — everything will turn out well.
Our workshop, Lobster Studio, began in Qingdao in 2018. At first it was a small, couple-run DIY handcraft studio, where we taught people to make wallets, passport holders and leather bags with their own hands. Later, the pandemic made running a physical shop difficult, so we moved somewhere with lower rent and turned online. While we were uncertain about the future, our love of boxing led us toward boxing gear, and Buffalo Boxing took shape in 2021 and has come step by step to where it is today. We are still a small team, making, selling and running everything ourselves. It is a pleasure to meet you.
