We thought starting a Blog would be a great way for you to get to know us!
Hemlock and Hyde was born last August as a creative outlet and the drive to make. Leanne and I both have backgrounds in Illustration. So we are no strangers to the creative process. However, leatherwork can be a bit daunting since if you make a mistake often you have to start over from the beginning. If you are sewing together two pieces of fabric and sew incorrectly you can just remove the thread reset your pins and fix it. Once you put holes in a piece of leather they are permanent. It is kind of like the difference between writing with a pencil and a pen. This is part of the reason why each product we make is so precious.
We lucked out a bit when researching leather. One of the last Vegetable Tanneries in the United States is right here in Pennsylvania. We chose this process since we want to mitigate our impact on the environment and produce something we could be proud of. Using tree bark and tannins just sounded better than chromium and artificial colorants. That is why you'll notice we don't have any lime green leather options. The leather we source uses the same process your grandparents knew, it lasts longer, takes time to break in, and ages beautifully.
Using vegetable tanned leather allows us to make products that hold up to your everyday use. Chrome tanned leather is softer and weaker in its structure and will give out before its Veg tanned cousin. We believe you shouldn't have to buy a new wallet every couple of years. We believe in classic designs and durable goods. We know you do too!
Every design and product is created in our Philadelphia, Studio. We sketch out ideas, make templates, cut, sew and burnish right here.
