Why we cut around the scars

Every hide that comes in from the tannery has a history on it: a fence the animal leaned on, an insect bite, a crease where the skin folded for a year. Vegetable tanning does not hide any of it. It shows it more, and it darkens around it as the bag ages.

A panel cut blind puts those marks on the front flap. So the hide goes on the table whole, the cutter walks round it with chalk, and the pattern pieces are placed around the scars rather than across them. It is slow, and it wastes roughly a fifth of every hide.

The offcuts are not thrown away. The largest become card wallets, which is why a card wallet never quite matches the bag it was cut beside. The smallest become the keepers on a strap.

We have been asked why we do not buy pre-cut panels, which would be cheaper and faster. The answer is on the front of every bag we have made: there is no scar on it.