Mary Tutwiler

The Origin Story

One assignment, two skins

In 2008, Mary Tutwiler was a journalist at Lafayette's The Independent, sent to cover a local tannery — RTL, which specializes in alligator and had just been acquired by Hermès. She left the assignment with two small, supple skins: one turquoise, one cognac. Then she did what most people don't — she figured out what to do with them.

"For a year, I puzzled over the gorgeous skins and finally got the nerve to cut and sew them into small wallets."— Mary Tutwiler (cocodri.com)

With help from her daughter and friends who had a sewing machine fitted with a diamond-tip leather needle, those first wallets became a business. She named it Cocodri, after the Cajun French word for alligator.

Something Interesting

A reporter's eye for a place

Tutwiler's journalism background shows in how she frames her work — she calls Lafayette "the epicenter of the alligator world," and she's as comfortable talking about the conservation story behind the skins as the colors of the season. She also works directly with customers who hunt their own alligators, turning a personal harvest into a finished keepsake. Everything Cocodri makes is handmade in Lafayette.

"I certainly wasn't always in the fashion business… I am having a blast in the fashion business!"— Mary Tutwiler (cocodri.com)

Her Standard

Built to last a lifetime

For all the serendipity in the origin story, the goal is deadly serious — and it's the line that recurs across nearly every Louisiana maker:

"My goal is to design beautiful, practical pieces that will last a lifetime."— Mary Tutwiler (cocodri.com)

Sources: cocodri.com ("How I Got Into the Alligator Business"); NOLA.com / Gambit, "Designer Feature: Cocodri." See the business profile: Cocodri, and the craft behind it in hand cutting.