Using Leather

Leather cutting is a highly skilled job. Being a natural material, the aim is to keep wastage to a minimum while preserving all the natural character of the hide in the piece being made, whether it is a car seat, office chair or a sofa. Unlike woven or man made materials, leather has naturally occurring characteristics, hallmarks of its origin for exmaple, healed and open scarring, tight and open grain, growth marks and neck wrinkles. These occur in all hides, however their numbers and severity differ from hide to hide. Like the grain in timber every hide is unique, not faults but the signatures of one of the most desirable aspiration materials the world over. Cutting leather is therefore a highly skilled job. The cutter must appreciate what characteristics of the leather are desired in each panel and must therefore consider where each panel fits into the final design of the chair, seat or sofa, in order to make the final product.