You can feel good about your purchase when you know how this design got made…
This is a Hand Crafted Design
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Type of Leather: Vegetable Tanned Cow Leather
Where did the leather get tanned? The cow was butchered for meat and the skin, which would otherwise be considered waste, got sent to Pergamena in New York for tanning, coordinated through 5th Business.
More about Pergamena: This tannery has been a small operation committed to their craft since it started over 500 years ago in Germany. The trade of the craft has been passed down from generation to generation in the family and is now operating in the Hudson Valley, NY. Courtney (founder, designer, and maker at Harkin) visited Pergamena before purchasing leather to connect with the team in person and see the operation with her own eyes.
Photo of Courtney (right) with Pergamena team at the tannery
Where was my Harkin product made? All Harkin products are designed and made by Courtney Phillips in Cleveland, Ohio. Her studio is located in 78th Street Studios in a shared space called Antonym Collective. Most products are machine sewn and every seam is finished by hand to ensure high attention to detail and longevity in each seam.
Photograph by Kogent Studios
What is “vegetable tanned” (or “veg tan”) leather? This is the oldest recorded method of tanning leather, using plant derivatives from bark and leaves as natural tannins.
As of 2021, chrome-tanning accounted for about 75% of the leather production in the world. Chrome-tan uses chromium as its tannin, which is a heavy metal and can be very detrimental to the health of the environment and surrounding community. It’s more commonly used because it is a quick, high-volume tanning process, whereas veg-tan historically can take weeks or months to complete and is done on a smaller scale.
Photograph by Kogent Studios
Although it’s a higher cost, Harkin is committed to working with veg tan leather because it is free of toxic chemicals, therefore supporting a safe and healthy environment to people in the tannery. Additionally, working with veg tan means that leather scraps can be composted and are harmless to the earth’s soil.
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Caring for leather is vital for the longevity of your Harkin product. Just as your skin needs to be lotioned, your leather needs to be conditioned periodically to avoid it becoming dry, which can lead to hardening and cracking in the hide. If you are not using your leather product for a while, store it in a dust bag that can sit on a shelf. It is best to not hang a bag with straps on a hook for more than several days because the leather can hold shape to the drape that is being created. Sit it on a bench instead or lay it in a dust bag. Pen ink is impossible to remove from leather, it is like tattooing skin. Keep your pens in a pouch so as to avoid any ink stains on your leather.