I was looking for a good belt earlier this week. Belts are easy to come by but usually way too expensive for their quality. All the big design houses have their own version and are all called “genuine leather” with the best quality.
What’s the difference between cheap and expensive leather goods? To understand this we must look at the manufacturing process. This is what happens when you tan leather:
Chafing The limed skin must now go through a chafing machine that removes fiber residues. The skin is now almost transparent, though it is still possible to discern the color from the animal. The skin is also trimmed in the edges in this part of the manufacturing. Cleavage After chafing you cleave the skin in two layers’ hair side and column side. Now we have two different kinds of leather. After the first stage of liming the hides is highly alkaline with a pH above 7. To reduce this, you apply an enzyme called Parkreas enzyme. This enzyme makes the skin more smooth and supple. Tanning For the tanning its divided into two methods, vegetable tanned and tanned by crhome. There are also combinations of both methods. Vegetable-tanned leather is also called "naturally tanned" because it tanned using substances that only comes from nature. This is very important and good for the environment. Creasing When the tanning is finished, you crease the leather to get the desired thickness. Re-greasing After all this treatment has all the natural fat disappeared from the hides and must be replaced. Drying The leather must now have dried either in hot air drying or tensioned in frames to become as smooth as possible. If it’s supposed to be for furniture’s you rub the leather against each other to get the desired softness. This is done in a rotating weal. Inspection The penultimate step in tanning insertion process is sewing and trimming of leather hides. Finish Now it's just the last step remaining is the finish of the leather to improve the properties of the leather and make it more durable. The sum it all up. Take a closer look at HOW the leather goods you are about to purchase is manufactured and then make up your own mind about its value. A good tip is to buy belts from shoe manufacturers instead of design brands who makes all kind of products. Some tips/inspiration are Herringshoes from UK who also have belts, and for sneakers you have the Italian manufacturer Buttero. //ELI
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Today I wanted to mention one of my favourite brands Shinola. This brand stems from Detroit and the factory is located around the scattered old "automobile city of the world". Shinola is american manufacturing as its best. Its a leather brand with a great story but perhaps more importantly a brand that builds great products. You can buy anything from watches to bicycles, leather cases, bags and much more.
The Shinola leather factory is a 12 000 square foot factiry that makes all the products from Italian machinery and the best leather from American tanneries. Next door to the factory is the Shinola Studio that crafts samples and amazing new products in leather, later to be build in the factory. The brand does not only give us consumers lovely beautiful products but also brings the city of Detroit back into life and of course a lot of job opportunities to all the great leather crafters the city has to offer. Visit www.shinola.com for more info on this wonderful American leather brand. Welcome to my blog about leather design. Here I will write about leather and design, craftmanship and history of it. Please check by here again soon for more posts! Cheers!
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About EliMy name is Eli and I am a leather designer. On this blog I will share my passion in leather craft and design with you. ArchivesCategories |