Black Friday at Tanner Bates
This Black Friday Weekend, we invite you to join us.
Take a stand against fast fashion. Use this weekend as a force for change.
Our handcrafted products will not be discounted.
Instead:
We have partnered with Moor Trees and will be donating one native tree for every £100 spent across the weekend
&
We are introducing: The new Thurlstone Cardholder
Moor Trees is a local charity based just around the corner from our Dartington workshop. They aim to restore native broadleaf woodland across Dartmoor and South Devon. Moor Trees gather tens of thousands of local tree seeds each year for germination in their nurseries.
Learn more about the fantastic work they are doing on their website.
A way of acknowledging the local provenance of our products
Theirs is a worthy cause and one that is very close to our hearts. Tanner Bates leather is naturally tanned using tree barks and production of our much loved Oak Bark Tanned Leather depends on the continuous replanting of native oak forests.
In the spring Tanner Bates will be joining Moor Trees for a voluntary workday acknowledging the English Oak and the essential part it plays in our local leather production. Next year we are planning to link up with a local biodynamic cattle farmer whose hides find their way to Baker's tannery pits.
The Thurlestone Cardholder
Introducing our brand new cardholder. For the discerning gentleman or lady who likes to travel light. Its stylish, simple and compact three piece design provides a trio of pockets, just enough for the essentials. Available in a range of different colour combinations, the Thurlestone Cardholder will slip effortlessly into your pocket or bag. Take a closer look here.
What is Black Friday and why it’s not for us.
Black Friday is a custom we have inherited from the US. Black, for retailers, represents profits moving into the black from the red for the first time in the year. It’s also the beginning of the “holidays” when government offices allow a day’s holiday after Thanksgiving giving employees a 4 day weekend and plenty of time to go full on shopping with the “holidays” in mind. Happy Holidays!
Ugly scenes of rampant Black Friday consumerism naturally make us want to disassociate from this annual occasion. Besides, we can’t compete in cut price sales because our margins are carefully calculated to keep prices affordable while paying a living wage to our workers. Margins - a balancing act for small makers!
And anyways, the practice just doesn’t fit with the Tanner Bates ethos. Each one of our products is part of a small collection of unique designs made in short runs by a dedicated team of skilled artisans using naturally tanned leather and traditional hand making techniques – when you can have that why would anyone even think about discounts?
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Leather - As Nature Intended
Tanner Bates are a small business of passionate makers. We love to experiment with different leathers, colour mixes and interesting designs.
Coming from traditional saddlery roots our founder, John, aspires to impeccable technique whilst admiring and gathering inspiration from the worlds luxury leather brands for their design and quality of finish.
Leather, however, is a product of nature and each skin is unique to the animal it came from. For the luxury brands this individuality presents a problem, but they have found a way to condition each skin, ironing (literally) out any irregularities and coating the surface with a pigment and/or acrylic surface to ensure each one looks exquisite..... exquisite but identical to the next one and the one after that.
For us, the high quality of making and individuality of design is a given. However being a small independent brand we are free to celebrate the uniqueness of the hides by featuring natural scars, imperfections, and irregularities of dyeing. These are natural attributes that give unique character to the final product. All of our products feature these natural irregularities making each item unique.
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