Repurposed leather and solid brass buckles: Beauty and the Beast

October 15, 2019

At Tanner Bates we don’t like to see perfectly good leather go to waste just because of the odd surface blemish. But we also like to create beautiful, handmade leather goods that last. So, with the addition of some truly spectacular solid brass buckles, we’ve made the beauty and the beast equivalent of leather belts. Read on to find out why our repurposed leather belts are so special.

 

Repurposed Leather – The Beast

You may remember earlier this year we introduced Vintage Oak Bark Tanned Leather for Tanner Bates belts. We have purchased a batch of 50-year old hides from our local tannery in Devon. Once sidelined and forgotten due to irregular dyeing or superficial scratching, this leather was left in a pile in a dark corner gathering dust. This leather deserves better than that – it’s world-famous. Originally made for stirrup leathers it has a Royal Warrant and is prized throughout the world as the very best of its kind. So, we’ve repurposed it. Our Vintage Oak Bark Tanned leather belts have real character and make use of great leather that would have otherwise gone to waste.

 

Solid Brass Buckles - Beauty

 

Earlier this year I was at a trade show in Milan feeling a little out of place. On my shopping list was belt buckles. We have a long tradition of sand-casting superb lorinery in the West Midlands but it’s all related to horse tack. I went to Milan looking for buckles that would appeal to our customers who are looking for something different, something more stylish. I saw lots of beautiful hardware but all was made from a cheap alloy of magnesium and aluminium but finally, I found what I had been searching for: a foundry casting solid brass and designing the most elegant shapes.  More than that, each buckle comes in a choice of 4 different finishes. The base is solid brass with a finish choice of shiny brass, matt brass, shiny chrome or flat “English Silver”.

 

 

 

I found it impossible to control my excitement as I was considering all the variations of leather and hardware designs and how each of our Oak Bark Tanned leathers would look with the different combinations.

We have just taken delivery of our first sample order. Each one arrives individually wrapped in triple layer tissue – cast, fettled and packed with such care. Believe me, this is such a pleasure! Now I am eager to get the belts made up and out to our customers.

 

 Click here to see these beautiful belts.

 

 

 

 

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