Pergamena Leather
Our team is here to work with you to produce both custom and ready-made leathers with a vast range of colors, textures, and thicknesses.
We have the capabilities of large-scale production and small-batch commissions of leather.
Leather Applications
Our leather is suitable for the following applications and more!
Apparel • Accessories • Bookbinding • Restoration projects • Craft-making • Shoes
Leathers for Interiors and Furniture are available.
Our Leather Process
Vegetable tanning - the process of using plant extracts to preserve animal skins - is one of the oldest forms of making leather known. At our tannery, we take domestic hides, many from the Northeast and more and more from the Hudson Valley where we live and work. We clean, and de-hair the hides. We tan them in the unique process we have developed, mechanically soften them using some of the same machines our ancestors used, and add color in a dye bath. Finally, depending on the intended use, we can add a finish, texture, wax or pigment to create material suited for any number of uses. Or, we can leave the leather unfinished and allow it to patina naturally over time, bringing out the beauty of classic veg-tan leather.
Leather Colors
(Shown here on Goat Leather)
Standard
Highview
Palisades
Craft Leather
Our aim is to support you in all of your pursuits, whether it be one-of-a-kind gifts, custom-designed heirloom pieces, testing new designs and ideas, or sourcing for large productions.
Just a few of the endless uses for our craft leather: Custom Belts, Wallets, Purses, Watch Straps, Jewelry, Key Chains, Aprons, Cabinet Pulls, Baskets, Jar Cosies, Shelf Brackets, Phone and Tablet Cases, Lunch Bags, Portfolios, Folders, Tool Holders, Moccasins, Plant Holders, Roll Up Chess Boards, and any other project you plan to create!
“We offer our services to help develop and produce unique leathers for numerous applications. From custom color development, to surface qualities, to durability and functionality concerns, we can lend our expertise and flexibility to help you create a leather specific to your needs.”
Leather Types
1
Goat Leather
Fine-grain texture with a naturally durable surface and a wide range of character, exceptional for leather goods, crafts, and furniture. Available in 2 oz/.8 mm to 4 oz/1.6 mm with 3 oz/1.2 mm being our standard thickness.
2
Cow Leather
Sturdy, durable, with large grain patterning, perfect for couches, chairs, handbags, belts, and footwear. Available in 3 oz/1.2 mm to 8 oz/3.2 mm
3
Deer Leather
Finely textured with plenty of natural character picked up from life in the wild, inherent softness is great for bags, boots, and upholstery. Available in 2 oz/.8 mm to 5 oz/2 mm
4
Calf Leather
Uniquely patterned with a soft hand, used in small leather goods and crafts where tactility and luxuriousness is paramount. Available in 2.5 oz/1 mm to 3.5 oz/1.4 mm
Our Standard Finishes
Hudson
Our Hudson line is vegetable tanning at its purest, offering a completely natural surface that will patina and wear beautifully and quickly as the leather gets handled. Character, markings, grain, and varied hand feel are all expected with this unadulterated look. Available in all leather types.
Highghview
The unique, pebbly texture of goat is one of its most desired qualities. Our Highview serves to accentuate that natural character, highlighting the grain patterning and drawing out an aged, worn look without artificially texturing the skins. As such, this line is only available in goat.
Rugged
Our Rugged leathers are sorted based on their natural character and grain for a more cost-effective option. Available in any finish, these leathers have more natural variation in texture and color when function and economy are most important. Cow, calf, and goat are all available in the Rugged option.
Empire
Empire is a waxed veg tan leather, preserving the natural character and grain of the hide while adding durability and creating rich, deep colors with warm tones. Empire is available in all animal types, and the surface and feel can be adjusted based on individual requirements.
Palisades
Our Palisades line is the all-purpose leather when durability, consistency, and function are the priority. Available in standard varieties as well as a range of options, including shine, texture, and color. Standard offerings are produced on goat, but special requests can be made for all other types.
Custom Finishing
We offer our services to help develop and produce unique leathers for numerous applications. From custom color development, to surface qualities, to durability and functionality concerns, we can lend our expertise and flexibility to help you create a leather specific to your needs.
Leather FAQs
How can I polish leather?
Leather can be polished in many different ways, depending on the type of leather. The fact that ours is a vegetable-tanned leather with a smooth grain allows for a lot of surface manipulation, either by burnishing and applying heat and pressure or by applying a polish of some kind. A search online shows that there are almost too many leather polishes out there to mention... Just make sure you use the right type of polish on the right type of leather. The wrong polish on a piece of leather can ruin it!
Do you sell suede?
The short answer is yes. Suede is actually the flesh side of a piece of leather. The other side is called the grain, which is smooth and often glossy. Suede that’s still attached to the grain is called reversible suede. It’s more durable because the grain is holding the flesh together. When you buy our leather, you can use whichever side you prefer. It is also possible to abrade the grain side in a similar fashion to suede. This is often called "nubuck." We are able to custom make either type of this leather, so contact us with requests. Contact us at info@pergamena.net.
Can I request parchments or leathers in special colors or types?
We do provide an extensive range of custom colors and types of leather and parchment. Contact us at info@pergamena.net to let us know what you’re looking for and we’d be happy to produce or source it for you. If you have a new idea that we have not done before you can work with our Custom Consultation team to get exactly what you need.
What is pyrogallol?
Pyrogallol is a term used to describe a type of vegetable tanning agent. It has a high percentage of “non-tans,” or non-reactive substances that help to fill the leather. The more non-tans, the less tannins there are available to react with air pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, and the more resistant the leather is to degradation. It is a slow process, but it is more stable over time than fast-acting catechol tanning agents (the alternative vegetable tanning agents) which are susceptible to red rot. Pyrogallol materials are often harvested from trees such as chestnut, oak, sumac, myrabolan, and tara, among others. Read more about Veg-Tan and our process.