Just like any industry, the leather industry has a slew of terms and acronyms that are widely used by designers, leather tanneries, suppliers and leather craftsmen. As a consumer in the leather and fashion industry, you may come across these terms but never knew what they meant. Here are five interesting leather related terms and acronyms that we think would be useful.
1. SLG
SLG – Short form for “Small Leather Goods”, typically referring to simple leather goods such as wallets, key covers, cardholders. Products in this category are generally cheaper and easy to construct as compared to bags and pouches.
2. HIDES
Hide – refers to an animal skin that is treated to make into leather. Same meaning as “Hides” in our brand as it is a key component of our leather products!
3. SHELL CORDOVAN
Shell Cordovan – Leather made from the tight, firm portion of horse butts. It has very tight pores and are greatly sought after because of its unique glossy finish. It is one of the most premium leather that you can lay your hands on!
4. VEGTAN
VegTan – Short form for “Vegetable Tanned”. A tanning process where raw animal skin is made into leather using vegetable-based tanning agents.
5. EMBOSSED LEATHER
Embossed Leather – Where a pattern or artificial grain is produced to mimic the characteristics of another kind of leather, most commonly crocodile skin. This type is leather is how they can offer crocodile patterned leather products at a significantly lower cost!