Leather is for life
No material is more beautiful than leather. You can feel it in the structure, the warm response to your touch. Leather is for life. At Leolux, we are strong admirers of leather as an upholstery material. Because whoever chooses leather chooses character. Leather is a natural product, and it breathes the quality that we feel so strongly about.
Before our experts inspect and process the leather, it goes through an extremely lengthy process. A fascinating process that we’d like to share with you. We want to take you on a journey through the world of leather, to answer your questions and increase your understanding of this wonderful natural product.
A good basis
It might sound odd, but the leather used in Leolux furniture is actually a waste material. The hides come from cattle that are primarily reared for meat production. And the quality of the hides is inextricably linked to the quality of the life led by the cattle. The leather that Leolux processes mainly comes from premium cattle country: Southern Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and France.
Responsible production
Yet another factor that is at least as important for Leolux is responsible, sustainable production. Which is why we purchase our leather from the five best tanneries in Europe. These are world players that comply with strict requirements throughout the production process, and are all highly certified. This means that they meet guidelines such as Der Blaue Engel eco label. So what do these producers look out for? Probably the best examples are water, air and soil pollution and the controlled use of chemical substances. The producers also invest in high-tech facilities, environmentally friendly production and well-trained employees. Like Leolux, they are committed to energy-efficient, socially responsible production. And to contributing directly to an honest European product.
From cowhide to furniture leather
Like furniture-making, leather production is a craft that has existed for centuries. It starts with the fresh hides, of course, which the tannery purchases directly from the slaughterhouses. These hides must be processed in the tannery within 24 to 48 hours. Exact logistical planning and efficient cooling are therefore vitally important for maintaining the highest quality. But what does the cowhide to furniture leather process entail?
The hides are immediately immersed in enormous vats, which are like huge washing machines. In the vats, they are washed, steeped and depilated. That takes at least a day, sometimes even longer.
Finishing touch
Although Leolux furniture leather is always of absolute top quality, we do distinguish four different finishing levels: aniline leather, smoothed aniline leather, semi-aniline leather and pigmented leather. The finish gives the leather a specific look: an even colour and level of lustre or texture. In addition, the finish helps protect the leather against dirt, water, scratches and sunlight.
Aniline leather
Aniline leather is the purest leather. It is made from the very best hides that are left following a particularly stringent selection. After dyeing, this leather is treated with only a very thin protective layer. The final result is central during the entire process: pure leather, with an open structure, unparalleled suppleness and tangible warmth. As only the most beautiful sections of the hide are used, aniline leather also has a lower cutting yield.
Smoothed aniline leather
Smoothed aniline leather is given a somewhat thicker protective layer of several mu (1/1000 millimetres) prior to dyeing. And yet the texture remains open to a certain extent, retaining that real ‘leather feel’. Like aniline leather, the range of available colours for smoothed aniline leather is somewhat more limited than for the other two types of finish. These are mostly natural shades, similar to the actual colour of the leather itself.
Semi-aniline leather
When you opt for semi-aniline leather, you get the best of both worlds. That’s because this leather, just like smoothed or aniline leather, has the natural leather grain and minor, charming imperfections of a hide. But semi-aniline leather is easier to look after because it has an extra finishing layer, which seals the texture of the leather without covering the natural grain. The somewhat thicker finish also enables minor corrections to be carried out, increasing the usable surface of the leather and thus reducing the price. Moreover, the extra finishing layer makes it suitable for more rigorous use, as you just need to wipe it with a damp cloth to clean it.
Pigmented leather
With pigmented leather, the hide is given a finish with an extra covering, and often also an additional finish. That gives the leather an even, uniform colour, but it does mean that the natural grain is less visible. This coating finish helps give a uniform character to the desired ‘leather structure’. Pigmented leather is extremely user-friendly and easy to clean. An additional advantage is that this type of leather is available in a greater variety of more intense colours.
Cutting the leather
When leather is cut, craftsmanship and ultramodern technology are sympathetically combined. The indispensable expert eye of the leather specialist is seamlessly paired with the computer-controlled leather cutting machine which provides a level of accuracy and efficiency no human could match.
Inspection on the stretching frame
The process starts with an inspection. Under special LED lighting, the hide is stretched on a stretching frame that imitates the original shape of the cow. That gives the best view of the quality of the hides, so that no imperfections escape the expert eyes of our inspectors. Each one is individually marked.
The best efforts of men and machines
In the past, the leather was cut by hand for each part of a sofa or armchair. Nowadays, two advanced leather cutting machines have taken over that work from our experts. After the specialist has positioned the laser-projected moulds of the most important, most visible parts on the best-looking sections of a hide, the intelligent software of the machine plans the rest of the moulds to create the most beautiful possible item of furniture with the least possible cutting waste.
The ABC of Leolux leather
Every leather hide has only a limited number of sections that are suitable for large, very visible parts of an item of furniture. That is why Leolux uses three categories when cutting leather.
A sections
These are the most even sections and are used to upholster the front of the back support and the top of the seat and arms.
B sections
Parts showing more hallmarks of authenticity are intended for the rear of the back support, the sides of the arms and the front section of the bottom seat.
C sections
These sections are used for the hidden sections of an item of furniture. This includes the inserts and the bottom of the cushions.
Workshop
The workshop employees combine all the individual pieces of leather into a single entity: the covers that will cover the furniture. Before that happens, the edges of the cut leather are ‘linked’. Then we hone them a little thinner so that the stitching becomes much easier.
Upholstering
Upholstering has always been a fascinating craft. After the various activities and processes have been carried out, the individual parts are assembled here: the elements fitted with foam, the covers and all other parts such as legs and armrests. The upholsterers fit the covers on the main body and then attach them. This involves a combination of strength, finesse and fine-tuned expert technical skills.