The Story Behind Leather

My love for vegetable tanned leather

My love for leather is a long story. I have been fascinated by the material since childhood — by the touch and smell of natural hides, the patina leather develops through time, use and sunlight, and the particular elegance of leather that has been well worn.
As a design student in Vienna, I began making my first objects from leather, using whatever hides I could find at local leather dealers. Alongside tailoring, I became increasingly fascinated by the different logic of product design: constructing an object through material, form and function.

After moving to Berlin and founding AGNES NORDENHOLZ in 2015, I began to focus more closely on accessories. One of the first projects was GREY FRIENDS, a collection made from the distinctive fleece and hides of the Heidschnucke, a traditional German sheep breed.
In 2017, I attended a course at the atelier of Stefano Parrini in Mugello, near Florence. There I learned traditional leather-working and hand-stitching techniques. It was also the moment I decided to work exclusively with vegetable-tanned leather.
Humans have been stitching hides by hand for tens of thousands of years. The traditional saddle stitch I use today is based on the same fundamental principle: the leather is pierced first and then joined by hand, stitch by stitch.

Vegetable Tanning — Why I work with this particular leather

I work exclusively with vegetable-tanned leather. My decision to do so came from wanting to work with a material whose character is not determined only by the finished product, but develops through the process of making and through use.

One of the things I don’t like about much conventionally finished leather is the way the natural surface of the hide is often made to disappear. Chrome-tanned leather can be heavily finished and covered with layers of pigment and synthetic coatings to create an even, flawless surface. This makes the leather look consistent, but it also hides many of the differences and imperfections. For me imperfections and scars are part of beauty and life, so why hide it?

I prefer leather that does not try to look perfect. With vegetable tanning, the natural character of the hide remains much more visible. Tannins found in materials such as bark, wood and leaves gradually penetrate the hide and stabilise its fibres. The process is slow, and the result depends not only on the tanning method but also on the individual hide.

The tannery

I work with selected tanneries in Italy, Germany and France. Some of them still use wooden drums, a method that has changed little over generations. The hides are placed in the drums with water and vegetable tannins and slowly rotated. The movement keeps the hides in contact with the tanning liquor, allowing the tannins to penetrate the fibres gradually. What begins as raw hide is transformed into leather through time, movement and the tanning process.

I visited one of the tanneries in Italy to see this process myself. What stayed with me was how much of the character of the finished leather is already determined there. The tanning does not simply produce a uniform material. It preserves differences in the hide and gives the leather its particular density, firmness and surface.

These qualities are important for the way I work. Vegetable-tanned leather can be cut, shaped, pierced and hand-stitched. I can burnish and polish the edges and work directly with the structure of the material. It is firm enough to hold a shape, but it also responds to the hands and gradually softens with use.

The process continues after I have finished the object. Light, touch and everyday use change the surface of the leather. Its colour deepens, it becomes softer and small marks accumulate. I don’t try to prevent this. I want the material to show that it has been used. Each object develops differently depending on the person who carries it and the way it is handled.
This is also how I think about the question of leather and sustainability. I don’t believe that replacing leather with a synthetic material automatically makes a product more responsible. Many products marketed as “vegan leather” are made from synthetic materials, often using plastics such as polyurethane or PVC.
The word “vegan” alone does not answer the question of how a material is made, how long it will last or what happens to it at the end of its life.
For me, the more important questions are where the hide comes from, how the animal was raised, how the hide is processed, how the object is made and how long it will remain in use.

I would rather make a small number of objects from a material that can last for decades, be repaired and become more personal through use. Making full use of the hide is important to me. The fact that it is a by-product of livestock farming is part of that consideration: I would rather give an existing material a long life than replace it with a newly produced synthetic one simply because it looks more uniform.
For me, longevity is therefore part of the making itself. I want to make objects that can be kept, repaired and changed by use rather than objects that are expected to remain looking new.

The photographs above were taken during my visit to one of the tanneries in Italy, Conceria Virgilio.