How a Metro Vancouver leather shop stitched its way into Netflix’s 'Avatar'
While most of us spent B.C. Day celebrating local makers, one New Westminster leather shop was marking a different kind of milestone, seeing its work featured in Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series.
Hand & Sew Leather Supply, run by longtime crafter Steven Enns, became a go-to vendor for the show’s costume department, supplying everything from helmet leather to fabrics for key hero and villain outfits from Season 1 to 2.
“It was my first big client that needed me to not only work hard, but use all the skills I have acquired over the last 15 years of working in leather craft,” Enns told Daily Hive.
From IKEA desk to film credits
Enns opened his shop in 2020, starting small with a single desk and a growing community of local leather workers.
One of those customers, Shelby Page of RunningwithScissors Creative, was working on the Avatar set and passed along his name.
That one connection turned into a dream gig.
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“The production was very interested in working with me, being a small owner-run business,” he said.
“I pride myself on being able to provide a lot of options, and if there’s anything the creative team was looking for that I didn’t have in stock, I was able [to] quickly source it through my worldwide supply connections.”
Maria Zhang as Suki, Tamlyn Tomita as Mayor Yukari in season 1 of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (Robert Falconer/Netflix)
Designers would ask for very specific pieces (like a “rouge-red leather with a pebble finish”) and he’d show up with a whole range of options.
“That extra customer service and going the extra mile made a huge difference,” Enns said.
He estimates the shop supplied “maybe even multiple tonnes” of leather during production.
That material made it into gloves, armour, robes, dresses, and more.
“There were a few particular articles of leather that we sourced that I could spot right away on the Zuko and Azula characters that I was particularly excited for,” stated Enns.
“It’s neat holding the actual raw material and then showing my partner the advertising hero shots and being like, ‘Look, that’s from me!'”
A game-changer for his family
The timing couldn’t have been better.
Enns and his wife were expecting their first child right as the Avatar opportunity came through.
With the new income, he was able to hire help at the shop, eventually bringing his wife on full-time.
“The opportunity came right when my wife and I were expecting our first child, and it allowed me to hire help running the store, which has meant the world to my family. Now my wife is able to work for the business full-time, as well, so we really are a family-owned business,” he said.
Hand & Sew’s work didn’t stop with Avatar. Since the show aired, the shop has caught the attention of other film and TV productions.
“It’s definitely led to many more opportunities with more film and television productions and other large clients,” he said.
Enns is even heading to Japan this fall to meet international suppliers in person.
This momentum also landed Enns a spot in a new Netflix BC Day video celebrating local production talent.
The feature spotlighted Hand & Sew’s work on Avatar alongside other Canadian contributors whose skills have shaped hit Netflix titles, including The Midnight Club, Virgin River (Season 6), The Night Agent, and The Recruit (Season 2).
Why staying local still matters
In 2023, Hollywood’s writers’ and actors’ strikes brought many film and TV productions in Canada to a halt.
According to the Profile 2024 report, overall production dropped by nearly 20 per cent, and foreign shoots (like Avatar) fell by over 25 per cent.
In B.C., that meant hundreds of millions of dollars in lost work and fewer jobs for local crews and suppliers.
The B.C. film industry has been on alert since May, when U.S. President Donald Trump floated a 100 per cent tariff on foreign-made films.
While no such policy has been enacted, the idea sparked concern from Premier David Eby, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, and industry leaders about the potential for higher costs and uncertainty in the $2.6-billion sector.
So when Avatar came knocking, it wasn’t just exciting – it was rare.
And for Enns, supporting local craftsmanship and educating customers on how products are made is part of the shop’s mission.
“Buying and investing in Canadian and locally made products is super important,” he said.
“Even for people who can’t necessarily afford to change their buying habits at this exact moment.”
And for creatives dreaming of scaling their work?
“If there’s one piece of advice I could give [it] is that futures are built on passion and persistence.”
“I was always in love with the journey of leatherworking, not necessarily the actual end products. Each project felt like a stepping stone to practice and learn more, to get to the next big project,” he told Daily Hive.
“If you craft with the journey in mind, and just keep persisting, you can’t help but get better and more confident in your craft over time.”
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