When I look for new leathers to use for my watch straps there are several factors I consider. The most important is that it is veg tanned (occasionally I’ll take a chrome tanned leather that has had a vegetable re-tan, but veg tanned leathers are far superior and better suited to a watch strap, and because they are tanned with natural products they are better for the environment too), but they also need to be interesting to look at, be a workable thickness and structure, and they have to be a little different to anything else I have. As a result, many of the leathers I use are small run leathers i.e. they have been produced by tanneries as one offs and in a small quantities, and so when I find something exciting I buy what there is, knowing that when my stocks start to run low I won’t be able to get any more.
This means I’ve always got a good selection of interesting leathers available, but it also means that during the year some of the leathers will finish, and when they do they have to be removed from my website. Occasionally I may find some more of the leather somewhere else (this happened with Storm Grey last year – it had been very popular but was removed from my website when the last strap was bought. A couple of months later I stumbled across another couple of skins at a wholesaler and so it could be re-launched), but this is rare. Normally finding more is impossible, and so although I’ve searched for them some very popular leathers like Saddle, Chocolate and Avocado will never be seen again.
Once a year I plan a pilgrimage to see what I can find. I normally take 3-4 days out of my schedule, drive around the country visiting a number of UK tanneries and leather wholesalers, looking for something new. Some of the places I visit are very small independent tanneries and it’s common to leave empty handed (but it does happen that I find something a bit special sometimes, so it’s always worth popping in to say hello) whilst others are large wholesalers who stock leather from tanneries all around the world. I thought that it would be a good idea to take a couple of photos to show the volume of leathers available at one of the wholesalers I visit ….
I’ve just got back home after one such trip. I’ve driven more miles around the country this time than ever before, and I’m excited with what I’ve found as a result. I’m always a little like a child in a sweet shop when on these trips, and as usual I’ve spent far more than I had budgeted for, but I think you’ll like what will be launched on my website over the next few weeks (at least I hope you will!). A sneak preview of what I’ll be adding over the next month or so…
As soon as the new leathers are ready I’ll launch them onto the store page, but first I have to make one strap from each of them to photograph. This can take a while so please be patient, but rest assured as soon as they are ready I’ll post some previews in my blog, so you’ll see them first by checking back here (or you can subscribe to receive an email every time I publish a new blog post – to sign up for blog posts by email see the signup box on the top of the right hand side bar on the blog page).