“Nero” is a new leather that will be launched very soon. It is one of a number of new leathers that I found on my travels last week and that will be launched over the next couple of months. I am currently making a strap from this leather to be photographed for my website, and as soon as I have it will be added to the Straps page and made available, but in the meantime I thought I’d post a quick preview here to show you what’s in store.
One of the most popular leathers I’ve been using over the last 12 months is Horween Derby – an un-dyed vegetable tanned steer hide produced by the Horween tannery in Chicago. Anyone who has commissioned a Horween Derby strap will know how lovely this leather is – soft and pliable, and because it’s full grain it has a lovely texture. It’s been one of my personal favourites and a go-to leather for my own use – a truly wonderful leather. Why am I mentioning this? Well, “Nero” is simply Horween Derby that’s been dyed black i.e. it is the same leather produced by the same tannery using the same processes, but with one difference – during the process of preparing & tanning the skin it is dyed black. When it launches on my site it will be called “Nero”, but as it is Derby by Horween so you can expect the same level of comfort & softness as you have found with the un-dyed “Horween Derby” leather.
Obviously because the leather has been dyed it doesn’t have the variations in colour that the un-dyed Horween Derby exhibits, but the open grain and variations in texture are there in spades. The photo below is a close-up that hopefully will give you an idea of what you can expect.
Finally, there is a very small amount of the leather that has a lot more scars and imperfections than the rest of the hide. I have cut this off the hide and it will not be offered via my website, but it is truly lovely and I plan on making 2 straps for myself from it. There is only enough of this distressed leather for a limited run of 7 straps (2 for me plus 5 more), so if you are looking for something distressed in black then this may be something you’d like? If so, get in touch – but remember there is only enough for another 5 straps so be quick! A close up photo of the leather that will be used for this limited run is below –
Update – Nero was launched on Saturday July 1st and is available here