The Cornerstone of Our Quality Product
At Hides and Thread, we are very particular with the selection of our materials – not just the leather, but also the hardware, inner lining and even down to the threads used. This ensures that we deliver a quality leather product that will serve you well in the years to come.
Learn more about the materials that we use below.
Our Leather
After years of testing different types of leather and getting feedback from our customers, we realised that the price of the leather may not necessarily be a good indicator of its quality nor its demand from our customers. During this process, we tested most premium leathers for its durability, development of patina, absorbency, scratch-ability and ease of work. With that, we have shortlisted a range of leather that we would recommend for our leather products.
Vegetable-Tanned Leather
Vegetable-tanned leather remains as our preferred material as it provides an overall luxurious and natural look. These leathers are put through an artisanal and traditional tanning process that has been used for centuries, involving the use of natural tannins like tree barks from mangrove, chestnut, oak, etc. The beauty of these leathers is displayed with use as it absorbs the natural elements and the colours of the tannins becomes more intense as it develops a patina.
On the other hand, chrome-tanned leather uses synthetic chemicals (mainly chromium sulphates) to mass-production to meet the global demand for leather goods. These leathers are less susceptible to the elements, which is preferred by some.
Our Hardware
The longevity of a leather product is often a time restricted not by the quality of the leather, but by the failure of the hardware in the product. As such, we are particular in what materials our hardware is made of and we use hardware that are made from well-established brands.
Zinc alloy hardware often lack the integrity and is not very forgiving to wear and tear. Hardwares that are made in brass or stainless steel remains as our preferred choice as they are extremely strong and corrosion resistant.
Our hardware is souced from credible suppliers to ensure that our products maintains up to our standards, for example, we only use YKK zippers as they are a very well-established brand in the industry.
Our Thread
The threads used in keep the leather product together is often the most neglected element. They are the unsung hero that adds a touch of finesse to the overall aesthetic of the product. Threads that are too thick may change the overall premium feel to the product while threads that are too thin may jeopardise the integrity of the leather product.
For our hand-made products, we use waxed polyester braided threads that are 0.45mm-0.55mm thick. In our opinion, these threads provides a clean aesthetic look which does not fray over time.
Our factory made products are stitched together with Serafil’s polyester thread. Serafil is one of the most well known and widely used brand when it comes to sewing threads – it is used across different industry such as garments, shoe making and, of course, leather making due to its high standards of seam quality, seam strength, and seam appearance