In this episode of Venice Talks, Monica meets Shanti Ganesha, founder of Meracu, a contemporary leather workshop in Venice.

We talk about the first moment leather felt like a language, the leap that led to opening a workshop in 2022, and how living between Venice and India shapes a design identity that feels built into every piece, not added on.

From material to method, we explore how a hide is chosen, what certified vegetable tanned leather changes over time, and why some steps cannot be rushed. We also get into the unseen side of independent craft: refusing serial production, learning to say no, and answering the question every artisan hears sooner or later, “Can you make it exactly the same?”

A conversation about hands, time, and integrity, with Venice as a living backdrop where making still means something.

1. Shanti Ganesha, founder of Meracu, on building a leather workshop in Venice (2022)
2. Between Venice and India: how heritage becomes structure, not decoration
3. Choosing a hide, reading grain and scars, and working with certified vegetable tanned leather
4. The slow step you cannot rush and the signature gesture that reveals the maker
5. Refusing serial production, learning to say no, and answering “Can you make it identical?”
6. Looking ahead: collaborations, apprentices, and a five year vision for the workshop

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in.

✨ Credits:

Hosted by Monica Cesarato

Produced by Monica Cesarato, Sentire Media

Guest: Shanti Ganesha from Meracu

If you love hearing the voices of Venice, subscribe and leave a review — it helps others discover these stories too.

💌 Want to share your own Venice?

Send me a short audio clip (1 minutes max) telling me what you loved most about the city — at info@monicacesarato.com.