Hi, I’m Ivan. I’m the person behind SHŪ / EN Studio and currently based in Indonesia. I won’t go into too much detail about myself here, but just for a bit of context, my background is in pure physics with a specialization in materials and sociology, which probably explains why I’m always thinking about systems, patterns, and how things relate to each other. Also I’m really drawn to biology and chemistry, how materials behave, how they change, how texture forms, and why certain surfaces feel the way they do. I spend a lot of time journaling, paying attention to small details, and learning through touch. Texture and material matter to me more than appearance alone.

I also actually enjoy being in nature. Long quiet walks, mushroom hunting, observing how things grow, decay, and transform. That curiosity naturally led me to learn more and more about leather, how it’s processed, how it ages, and how it responds to use.

At one point, I seriously thought about working with mushroom-based leather. I still find it fascinating. But I realized I needed to learn much more before doing it responsibly. For now, SHŪ / EN still works with cow leather, sourced through local tanneries I collaborate with, while I continue learning and exploring other possibilities.

SHŪ / EN didn’t start as a plan. I wasn’t trying to build a brand or sell anything. I made a leather journal for myself, posted a photo of it, and didn’t think much about it after that.

Then people started asking about it. Where it came from, whether I made it myself, whether I could make one for them too. That part surprised me. What started as something private slowly turned into something shared.

Everything you see here, the objects, the website, the technical bits, is put together by me, with help from local tanneries I work with. It’s a quiet process, and I like to keep it that way. Thank you for trusting this small project! <3