I apologised,” says the 31-year-old founder of Malaysian leather craftsmanship company Tyde Goods. He had his eye on a leather wallet from the brand Bellroy, but as a student, he could not afford it. I told him I needed to buy this wallet to study leather,” he says. After making the purchase, he took the wallet apart to study the craftsmanship – and then went further. He bought tools and materials online and began working with leather to show his lecturer what he had learned.