Who knew there was so much to know about leather? A few weeks ago, my class had the opportunity to tour a local leather manufacturing company along with sit in on a continuing education course. Tiger Leather is one of the youngest leather manufacturing companies in the US and is located in Greensboro, NC. Our tour consisted of a walk through of the entire plant to observe the full process of leather crafts starting with design process and ending with the final product. We were able to observe and learn about the several grades of leather from the highest grade being the most natural to the lowest grade as the most processed.
As a designer, it was beneficial to learn about what to expect when purchasing different grades of leather. If a high grade of leather is purchased, a designer should expect to receive leather that may contain hair follicles, color variation, scratches, holes, branding marks, etc. However, when purchasing a lower grade of leather, the overall look can be more finessed though it comes with the loss of the natural healing and long lasting properties of leather in its most natural form.
Additionally, we were able to learn about the products and coating that can be applied to leather to achieve a desired standard. For example, we were shown a commercial grade leather with a coating that can withstand ink stains, wine stains, coffee stains and many more. This grade of leather is very beneficial to commercial companies that expect a lot of use from their leather furniture.
Ultimately, there is a lot of thought and intention that goes into leather crafting, its much more than just a pretty covering.
AN INSIDE LOOK 