Our Leather

The most essential part

Photo by Angelika Annen for CORII

Philosophy
In my philosophy no part of an animal should go to waste, it is a life after all.
As long as humanity eats meat, there will be hides. Sadly, most animal hides are discarded as a waste product, while the leather industry imports "wet blue", partially processed and chrome tanned hides from countries with questionable environmental and sociological practices.  Respecting the source is sustainability. 

Expectation
Offering an alternative to this is one of the core motivations of White Wolf Leather Studio. We get the leather for our products from Corii, a small family-owned company in the Swiss Alps that produces its leather in a tannery in Southern Germany. The hides are processed and tanned using methods passed down over generations, and with craftsmanship and without toxic chemicals or heavy metals. The hides used by Corii come from local farms practicing organic, biodynamic, or regenerative agriculture.
Corii focuses on close relationships with the farmers who supply the hides and with everybody else involved in the process, from employees to customers. Their supply chain is fully transparent.
You can learn more about Corii, their practices and standards on their own website here. 

Looks
In order to be as resourceful as possible, I try to use every inch of the cow hide. This means, you may see variations in the color or grain if I cut the pieces from different areas of the hide. 
The cattle that is used for our leather is free ranged. The cows have mosquito bites, scrapes and other signs of an outdoor life. This shows in the leather. It is proof that the cows were raised outdoors, the way it should be, and adds character to your leather product. As long as it does not impact the function or durability, like a deeper cut for example would, I will use the leather with and without scratch marks.
Sustainability means embracing imperfections. 

Care
When you first feel your leather product made with Corii leather, you will immediately notice how organic and soft it feels. It is vegetable-tanned, chrome-free and only slightly treated with fats and oils - no top coating. This allows the leather to breathe and develop its typical natural patina over time and with use. It will darken slightly and feel very personal, like a life well lived. 

The minimal treatment makes the leather somewhat prone to water stains. To me, this is part of developing its character. If you do not feel the same about water stains, I recommend polishing the leather with a natural leather balm and a soft, undyed cotton cloth before the first use. This will darken the leather first, but it will brighten back up and make rain drops barely visible.
Alternatively, you can gently rub the leather with a soft damp cloth to soften the edges of the water stains if your product got wet. This will also darken the leather slightly, but make the drops themselves invisible.

Preservation is sustainability. 
Sustainability does not end where and how the raw material is sourced, but also how often we need or want to replace what we own.
We want you to enjoy, and use, your leather product for a very long time.
If you have any questions about treating the leather, or you need a repair, please don’t hesitate to contact me here. 

Photo by Angelika Annen for CORII