Our Story

Founded in 2011 by husband and wife team Joe Freitag & Yumi Kawamura, the name Friday & River is drawn from our own names - “Friday” in German and “River Village” in Japanese. 

Based in San Diego, California, fusing traditional western durability and the minimal design ethos of Japan, we make well-designed, thoughtful, high quality goods with the best materials, built to last for generations.

We also want to make the world a better place, a portion of proceeds go to support charity.

Each piece of leather is special and possesses its own marks, color, grain, etc, and may vary depending on the piece it is cut from.

Each stone can vary in shade, texture and pattern.

Following the tradition of craftsmanship of both western and Japanese cultures, each finished piece may have its own unique bench marks from being carefully handcrafted.

These things are not imperfections, but elements that make no two pieces exactly alike.

The Name & Icon

At the center of our icon are the letters F&R surrounded by a compass, representing our origins and the places around the world where we’ve lived and traveled.

The name and icon of Friday & River are the cornerstones of what we stand for – who we are, where we’ve been, and our journey to make the highest quality goods inspired by our experiences as travelers and artists.

Our Mission & Social Responsibility

Our mission is to create unique, handcrafted, high-quality, meaningful and personal items that you love to carry with you and help tell the story of who you are.

We also want to make the world a better place. A percentage of our proceeds are donated to one of several causes including cancer research and support, international aid, and children in need.

We strive to eliminate waste at each step in the production process. For example, we don’t cut around the scars and marks that are found on every side of leather – we embrace them as unique and special and incorporate them into our products. The spirit of embracing imperfection, and using only the necessary amount of materials in each product is part of who we are and what makes Friday & River unique.

Process & Materials

All of our leather goods are handcrafted with the highest quality materials following traditional leathercraft techniques and methods.

All jewelry and home goods are made by hand and the materials for each piece are carefully selected and crafted with the utmost care and attention to detail.

We know that the things you choose to carry with you on a daily basis are very personal, so each piece is extremely limited in quantity (often one-of-a-kind), to insure that each item is unique to its owner.

We hope you enjoy them enough to hand down to future generations.

~F&R~

Makers of premium leather wallets, belts, bags, jewelry home goods and everyday carry items. Made in the USA.

Connect with us @FridayAndRiver. #RaiseYourSailHigh.