Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Gunalp Abraham Hanoglu.
Sarah Gunalp, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
NINE is the culmination of two distinct professional journeys. Before we joined forces, Sarah built a reputation for high-end, handmade leather goods in New York, while Abraham operated as a watchmaker in Kansas alongside running a digital marketing agency. Beyond our shared family heritage, we eventually married and decided to merge our expertise into a single, unified brand.
Our background as product designers has allowed us to scale NINE with incredible speed and precision. While we have become a staple in the local area for rapid, high-quality watch repairs, our focus is now on the future: we are currently designing our own proprietary watch selection and have expanded our leather collection to include five times more models than when we started.
To meet growing demand, we have evolved our production process. We transitioned our design phase from paper to digital and integrated high-tech machinery to assist in the production line. However, our core philosophy remains unchanged: we still make every product one at a time. We continue to use only the highest quality full-grain leather, ensuring that while our capacity has grown, the soul and durability of our craftsmanship remain uncompromised. At NINE, we’ve successfully combined the precision of modern technology with the heart of traditional bench-work.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No road is ever truly smooth, and we operate with the realistic understanding that as humans, we are always searching for better opportunities. We don’t wait for the road to get easier; we simply work harder—often 14 hours a day, seven days a week.
One of our greatest struggles was a significant setback with our first location. Because we were a small, family-owned business, we assume the landlord thought we won’t last long and refused to sign a permanent lease with us. Ultimately broke our lease and gave our space to another business with little over 10 days notice to us. It was a painful experience that hurt us deeply; we were left without a storefront for a month and lost many of our loyal customers during the transition. While we believe that one day they will recognize the value we brought to that space and may even ask us to return, the experience was so damaging that we aren’t sure we ever would.
However, that hardship led us to a better partnership. The Independence Center Mall opened their doors to us and has been incredibly supportive of our vision. Scaling a business is expensive, and we are currently at a level where we are doing all the heavy lifting ourselves rather than hiring outside help. But through the long hours and the moving of locations, we remain focused. We know that the dream comes true through this kind of persistence, and we are grateful to be in a place that actually values our craft.
As you know, we’re big fans of NINE Leather & Watch. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
What We Do: The Union of Two Disciplines
At NINE Leather & Watch, we specialize in the intersection of horology and high-end leather craft. We are a family-owned workshop that provides a rare dual-service: we are expert watchmakers and master leather artisans. While many in the Kansas City area know us for our rapid, professional watch repairs and battery services, we are primarily product designers.
We specialize in creating “Buy It For Life” goods—specifically hand-stitched full-grain leather accessories and our own proprietary watch designs. Since Sarah and Abraham joined forces, we have expanded our leather line to include five times more models than we originally carried, ranging from minimalist wallets to tech accessories and custom watch straps.
What Sets Us Apart: Speed Through Design
What truly distinguishes us is our technical agility. Because we are product designers, we’ve transitioned our process from traditional paper sketches to high-tech digital design and integrated advanced machinery into our production line. This allows us to fulfill demand and improve our designs at a speed most handmade businesses can’t match.
However, we never sacrifice the “one-at-a-time” quality. We still use the finest full-grain leathers and hand-finish every piece. We’ve essentially modernized the efficiency of the workshop without losing the soul of the craft.
Our Brand Pride: Persistence and Quality
Brand-wise, we are most proud of our resilience. After losing our first location and facing the risk of losing our customers, we didn’t just survive—we grew. We are proud that we can now offer a much larger selection of models while maintaining the same high-quality standards we started with.
What We Want Readers to Know
We want your readers to know that when they buy from NINE, they aren’t just buying a product; they are supporting a local, family-owned brand that is obsessed with detail. Whether you need a 10-minute watch repair at the Independence Center or a custom-designed leather heirloom, you are getting the direct attention of the designers themselves. We are building the future of local craftsmanship, one watch and one wallet at a time.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Our goal is to build NINE into a national brand, but we are fully aware that we cannot reach that level without strong local roots. We view our community at the Independence Center Mall as our foundation.
We don’t ask for donations, and we don’t expect people to buy things they don’t need. Our philosophy is simple: If you are already in the market for a high-quality leather good or need your watch serviced, why not choose NINE?
Ways to Work With and Support Us:
Choose Local First: Before looking to a big-box retailer or a massive online corporation for a new wallet, belt, or watch, come see what we are building. By getting your watch battery replaced or your band adjusted at our shop, you are directly fueling the growth of a local family business.
Custom Collaboration: As product designers, we love collaborating on custom pieces. If you have a specific vision for a leather heirloom or a custom watch strap, let’s design it together.
Spread the Word: We understand that a “smooth road” is earned through hard work, but word-of-mouth is what speeds up the journey. If you’ve had a 10-minute repair or bought a piece you love, telling a friend or leaving a review is the most powerful way to support our national ambitions.
We are still in the stage of working 14-hour days to make this dream a reality. Every watch we service and every wallet we stitch brings us one step closer to showing the rest of the country the level of craftsmanship that comes out of Kansas City.
Pricing:
- https://nineleather.co (our website has all the product prices as well as approximate cost for the watch services)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nineleather.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nineleatherco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nineleatherco
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NINELeatherWatch
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nine-leather-and-watch-independence-3
