Meet the Team
Directors
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Roger Barlee
Managing Director
Roger spent time working at the family company throughout his youth, before going to university. He formally started in 1984 whilst studying leather technology at Nene College.
He became a Director in 1988, & Managing Director in 1993 when his father, George Barlee, retired.
He enjoys still getting into the tannery when he can, but spends most of his time in the warehouse or offices. -
David Lanning
Sales Director
+44 (0) 7947 754842
David joined Hewits in 1987 as the manager of our London warehouse.
He became the Sales Director in 1992, and has been the main public face of Hewits ever since, travelling the world to attend trade fairs on our behalf.
After the closure of our London warehouse David stayed in England, where he still works remotely. -
Andrew Barlee
Health, Safety, & Sustainability Director
+44 (0) 7731 944406
Like his father, Andrew spent time during school holidays coming into the tannery. He joined the family company in 2021 after finishing university, and has spent time down in Northampton studying leather technology on and off in the years afterwards.
Andrew became a Director in 2023, and whilst he mainly spends his time working in the tannery, he can be found at the trade fairs that we attend.
Staff
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John Klemetsen
Leather Warehouse Manager
In 1990 Klem began working in the finishing department before, swiftly, moving up to the warehouse.
For a temporary job he didn’t want, he’s stuck it out quite well, becoming a manager in 1995. Klem is one of the cheery warehouse staff who’s happy to take your call, and will always do his best to find you the leather you need. -
Marius Slaber
Non-Leather Warehouse Manager
Originally from South Africa, Mo has been with Hewits since the late 80's, working in our London warehouse before moving up to Scotland when it closed.
He now oversees the non-leather side of the warehouse, working with Klem to field your calls and complete your orders. -
Caroline Barlee
Office Manager
Caroline started sewing headbands for us in 1998, and spent her time at home with a baby Andrew sewing for orders.
After the sad loss of Douglas in the offices, Caroline started working full time, taking over some of his roles. Our Hewits sewn headbands are still made by Caroline, as she still makes time for it now whilst overseeing the finances. -
Anna Marris
Administrator
Anna joined us in 2009, taking over some of the invoicing work in the office. She has since helped move us into the modern age with some of our shipping platforms, and is a dab hand at making our sample cards.
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Emily Hutton
Administrator
Emily started working at Hewits in 2024, attending her first trade fair one month in! Whilst Andrew has shown her the ropes in the tannery, she is normally found in the warehouse or learning David’s administration roles.
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Martin Kedslie
Tannery Finishing Manager
Martin joined the finishing department as a teenager in 1987, learning the process of becoming a colour matcher over the next few years. Martin completed his City & Guilds qualification at Nene College in the 90’s before becoming Finishing Manager in 1999.
He’s still the colour matcher now, but on occasion he’ll help Andrew with some of the slickering in the wet-end. -
Charlie Ferguson
Tannery Wet-End Foreman
Charlie began working with Hewits in the late 70's as a teenager, and apart from a brief break to work with his family, has been here ever since.
He’s our main shaver in the wet-end side of the tannery, and lends a hand in finishing when needed. Otherwise he can be found keeping our ageing machinery working smoothly, a task that can keep him fairly occupied! -
Taz
Chief Rabbit Chaser
Taz arrived in 2023 shortly after the loss of our previous tannery dog, Saffy.
Taz spends her days relaxing in her office, or securing the property by sniffing out any intruding rabbits.
