Mestre Espedito – Master of Leatherwork

Espedito Veloso de Carvalho, better known as Mestre Espedito Seleiro, is a Brazilian saddler who has mastered the fine art of leatherwork. Born on 29 October 1939 in Arneiroz, a town in Sertão dos Inhamuns, Ceará, he embodies the culture and creativity of Ceará and is considered an important personality in north-eastern Brazil.
The son of a cowboy, Espedito learned the saddler's trade from his father at the age of eight. He made saddles and other equipment for cowboys, cattle drivers and cangaceiros. His father's early death left behind ten children and some tools of the trade.
Espedito, as the oldest son, began to support the family by making saddles. At that time, they lived in Nova Olinda in the state of Ceará, during the period when the 20th century's longest drought in northeastern Brazil, from 1979 to 1984, devastated the country and a resulting livestock crisis made selling equipment to the cowboys increasingly difficult.
Espedito began making shoes, bags, hats, purses, benches, armchairs, saddles, Gibãos (leather jackets) and other leather items. He makes his works from goatskin and cowhide,

which is still traditionally produced in several northeastern cities. His pieces combine modern art with old craftsmanship and are very popular worldwide.
Some of his products are particularly characteristic of the master craftsman. These include the sandals of ‘Lampião’ and ‘Maria Bonita’. These sandals inspired him through a story told by his father. He said that a customer came up with a design for a ‘square’ sandal and ordered it. A few days later, the customer picked up the sandals and recognised their quality. The customer turned out to be a bandit from the gang of ‘Captain Virgulino’. The square sandal had a practical function for the gang. They left no tracks in the sand of the hinterland.
Years later, Espedito made a sandal on behalf of the musician Alemberg Quindins. Alemberg was the founder of the Fundação ‘Casa Grande - Memorial do Homem Kariri’. The sandal was exactly like Lampião's. Soon after, he also created the Maria Bonita sandal.
His wife made leather goods, including purses and bags. She started using colours. Espedito became an explorer of natural pigments and leather-dyeing techniques. He discovered ‘angico’, a deciduous tree in the legume family that dyes brown. He also discovered ‘Annatto’, the red-yellow seeds of the orleanstrauch, which dye red, and ‘Grasasche’, which dyes white. Over time, he developed his own aesthetic. He placed a high value on design and colours. This was a result of the influence of the gypsies. He admired this people and they fascinated him in his youth with their clothing and jewellery.
Workshop of the Espedito Seleiro School
One day, Espedito realised that with the death of his father, the knowledge might be lost. It was knowledge that had already been passed down from his great-great-grandfather. So he decided to teach the craft first to his brothers. Then he taught it to his children and more recently to his grandchildren. He later founded the ‘Oficina Escola Espedito Seleiro’. This school not only imparts the craft but also the realisation that this know-how is part of a living culture. It is a way of life that can live on in each person.
Espedito is now considered a master of culture. He has been officially recognised by the government of the state of Ceará and the Ministry of Culture. In 2017, the Universidade Estadual do Ceará (Uece) awarded him the title Notorious Knowledge.

Mestre Espedito;
Some people enter my studio and ask, ‘Why does each of your works have a heart?’ I answer, ‘Because I put my whole heart into it.’