Journal
Notes on tanning, origin, and how to tell one leather from another. Technical, without the advertising.
6 min readWhat vegetable tanning is, and why it beats chrome
Chrome tans in a day; plant tannins need weeks. What happens during those weeks decides everything that follows.
4 min readWhy vegetable-tanned leather smells of the forest
The scent is not an additive and not a perfume. It is what the bark leaves behind in the leather.
7 min readHow to tell real vegetable-tanned full-grain leather
Five checks that need no lab access. Four of them work in a shop.
5 min readWhat patina is, and why plant-tanned leather ages better
Patina is not wear. It is a chemical change that can only happen on an open fibre.
6 min readThe journey of a hide: from German tradition to Vietnamese hands
Why the tannage comes from Germany but the finishing happens in Vietnam. And why we do not hide it.
5 min readCare: Togo, Mill and Nappa one by one
Three finishes, three needs. The most common mistake is the same for all three.