Personal Proffesional Practice 3: Leather

I looked at leather as the material to use for my interior walls to allow the client to use it to lean against and rest against it. There are many types of leather which some contains chemicals that are considered not eco-freindly, so I did a little bit more research to find a leather which is the exact opposite. Vegetable tanned leather therefore is the perfect material to use for my interior walls because of it environment friendly process.

Vegetable tanning is an ancient and traditional craft process that tanneries have passed down over the years, using both ancient recipes and more recently state-of-the-art technology.

Vegetable tanning shows off leather in its most natural state and you can really see the skill in the tanning process and also the finished product.

The transformation from raw hides into a material that will last a long time is a process that happens slowly in wooden drums or in tanning pits. Vegetable tanning is the most environmentally friendly way to tan leather; there are no chemicals used respecting the environment due to the use of natural ingredients rather than chemicals. It is an astonishing process based on the use of natural tanning, using modern technologies and machinery but mainly it relies on the slow passage of time.

Among the various tanning methods, vegetable tanning is the most traditional and the most recognisable; it is the only form of tanning that is able to give leather unique characteristics, retaining the natural flaws and markings. It is also the most environmental-friendly. It is able to join comfort and look, fashion and tradition, uniqueness and versatility in the product.

Raw materials used for vegetable tanning are natural tanning, available in liquid or powder form, obtained from different part of plants including woods, barks, fruits, fruit pods and leaves. The most common tannins are obtained from Chestnut wood, Quebracho wood, Tara pods, Chinese gallnut, Gambier, Mimosa bark, Oak wood, Turkish gallnut and Valonia Oak.

ADVANTAGES OF VEGETABLE TANNING

· Vegetable tanning is environmentally friendly; meaning any leather products that have been vegetable tanned can be recycled.

· Vegetable tanning is an age old tradition, so most tanneries have very skilled craftsmen producing and dyeing the leather.

· Due to the natural tannins used, vegetable tanned products are unique and have their own life, they are not the same for their entire life, but they change, continuously, for the better developing a patina over time.

· The colours that vegetable tanning produces are rich and warm tones that look completely natural.

· Vegetable tanned leathers are more valuable and thus sold at a higher average price compared to chrome tanned leathers.