Welcome to this instalment
in our Leather feature
What is Aniline leather?
It’s time to upweight your leather knowledge and most importantly your sampling.
Decor Design Leather is a meticulously crafted leather range manufactured in Northern Italy, the home of upholstery leather and stocked locally in Perth, WA. It has been used extensively across the Australian and New Zealand commercial landscape from the Qantas lounges, Crown and Star Casinos, Merivale, Solotel hospitality groups, Westfield shopping centres etc… and across many top end furniture manufacturers and retailers.
All our leather samples are now in the new ‘D’ format.
What are the different types of leather?
As Man spent centuries refining the art of leather tanning, we developed techniques to ensure maximum hide utilisation. This involves a variety of processes, techniques, finishes and hence terminology.There are many terms for leather, some are wrongly used and mixed up. For the purpose of simplifying, understanding and specifying leather we stick to five categories of leather.
Leather terminology largely refers to the techniques used in leather production. Every hide is graded on purity before entering the production process, based on this grading it is then treated in a variety of ways.
5% – Aniline leather
Refers to leather in its purest form. Only 5% of all hides are suitable for Aniline leather production. In this process, leather is tanned, aniline dyed and then moves through a range of finishing processes.
15–20% – Semi-Aniline leather
A further 15-20% of hides have colour imperfections that can be corrected by adding a light pigment to the aniline dying process. This ensures a more consistent colour while still allowing the natural characteristics of the leather to be revealed.
Aniline and Semi-Aniline leathers ensure an evolving natural leather finish that adapts to its environment over time.
75% – Pigmented leather
The balance of tanned hides are tanned, dyed, and pigment corrected (heavier pigment than semi-aniline) and produced either using the existing full grain or the grain is corrected using an embossing tool. Hence the term corrected grain. Pigment /corrected grains ensure a more consistent leather finish that is stable over time.
What sets Nubuck apart from Suede, and what are their distinctions?
Nubuck
A top grain leather buffed and brushed to produce a velvet-like surface then dyed. Nubuck is tougher and more resilient to stains / scuffs than Suede.
Suede
This is created from a bottom leather split (see our last feature article) which is buffed, brushed, sanded, it is less durable in this state than Nubuck.
Range highlight: Britannia
Britannia is a waxed aniline leather produced on English Steer hides
Britannia is the second of our waxy leathers , characterised by its sumptuous handle and strikingly smooth finish. BRITANNIA has an aged appearance, coupled with a slight ‘pull-up’ effect, which creates a sharp burst of colour from under the surface. The pull-up effect gives the product a distinctive appearance that embodies old-world charm and sophistication.
Key Facts
Leather type: Aniline
Produced on English Steer hides using water based dyes.
Made in Northern Italy
Extensive colour palette 26 colorways
Av hide size 5.0 sqm
Thickness 1.0–1.2mm
Produced by an ISO 14000 certified company
ISO 9001 quality certification.
All colors are available in our European warehouse with a lead time of 2–3 weeks.
Why Decor Design Leather?
The ranges are hand picked
Leather comes in all shapes, styles and finishes. We select the most suitable (style, finish, colour) Northern Italian leather for Australian and New Zealand markets.
Backed with exceptional service and over 40 years of expertise/technical support
Leather is a unique product, some would say still shrouded in mystery! It requires generational expertise to understand, select and specify. We understand how it works, its needs and its limitations and will work with you through every step of the journey.
Locally stocked for rapid turnaround
Many leather projects require quick delivery. We stock locally in Perth for immediate shipping on a 2–3 day lead time anywhere in Australia and 1 week to New Zealand.
Priced for value
Sourcing direct from Northern Italian tanneries in bulk provides an exceptional price/value equation on a superb quality leather range.
Hume is the only company licensed to sell these products on the East Coast of Australia and in New Zealand.
Explore the full range of stocked Decor Design Leather ranges
Leather… the natural choice.