[Leather Story] A detailed explanation of Taurillon Clemence leather.

I would like to explain about the leather that Philosophy handles.

If you Google leather, you'll often find incorrect information posted on multiple sites, and in particular, the leathers that Philosophy mainly deals with, such as Taurillon Clemence and Vaux Epson , are rarely carried by other manufacturers or brands. , I can't find very accurate and specific information.
It's really good leather, so I think it should become more popular.

The leather is used in Hermès leather products, so if you look it up, you'll often find it on pawn shop sites, but since they're not leather shops, they're pawn shops, so it's not that accurate, and QA sites are based on speculation. There were many things that were.

That's why I'm going to write about Philosophii's most popular leather [Taurillon Clemence].

[Taurillon Clemence]

Shrink leather made by the historic French tannery Rémy Carriat. Remy Carrier was founded in 1927 and has a history of nearly 100 years.

Tourillon is the French word for young bull.
Since cowhide is very large, it is usually tanned in half-sized pieces, which are half the size of one cow, but Taurillon Clemence is tanned in whole pieces (one whole piece). Therefore, one piece of leather has a size of 2m x 2m or more.
Honestly, it's too big and heavy for me to handle, but it has the advantage of being usable for large furniture. But it has nothing to do with making bags or wallets. .

The unique characteristics of this Taurillon Clemence are its softness, beautiful grain, and good coloring that cannot be achieved with other leathers.
And because of its softness, unique ingenuity is required to make it beautiful.

I will write a long article about the characteristics of French leather called Taurillon Clemence.

✅Full grain leather

Taurillon Clemence is a full-grain leather.
Full-grain leather is tanned leather without any surface treatment.
Since leather is a natural material, it is common for scratches and insect bite marks to remain on the leather surface during life. Therefore, at the tanning stage, we perform treatments such as buffing to make the scratches less noticeable.
Full-grain leather does not undergo such processing, so blood lines, scratches, and other marks remain, but the original expression of the leather can be utilized. In addition, it is highly durable because it does not remove the epidermis, which is the most durable part of the leather structure.
Cowhide is a by-product of meat production, but in Europe, with the premise that it will be used as leather, care is taken to prevent it from being damaged as much as possible from the breeding stage.
If the raw hide itself that is the source of the leather is not good, it will not be a good full-grain leather.

✅Shrink leather

Taurillon Clemence is genuine shrink leather.
Leather with grain (unevenness on the leather surface) is called shrink leather, and there are two types of shrink leather: genuine shrink and embossed shrink.
Shrink leather uses a shrink agent to shrink the leather, resulting in a grainy surface. It is said that shrinkage reduces the area of ​​the leather by about 20%, which makes the leather itself more expensive.
In addition, the way the grain appears depends on the condition of each piece of leather, so not only does it vary greatly from one piece to another, but even within a single piece of leather, the appearance can vary depending on the location.
Therefore, if you try to make a uniform product, the yield will be extremely low and the price of the product will inevitably be high.

There are various types of shrink leather, but what makes Taurillon Clemence amazing is its high tanning technique that creates beautiful fine grains despite its original thickness of about 2.5 mm, and its amazing softness.
Genuine shrink leather is not pressed like embossed shrink leather, so it generally has a softer finish, but it is still soft.

Famous shrink leathers include Togo, Negonda, and Shrunkencalf. These leathers are soft but have some stiffness, but Taurillon Clemence is the softest without being stiff. (Softer does not necessarily mean better leather.)

✅Beautiful coloring and large number of colors

The color is a matter of personal preference, but when using a variety of leathers, there are certain leather textures and colors that give a luxurious finish.
Schrunken calf is available in a wide variety of colors in Japan, but I personally prefer the color of Taurillon Clemence. And there are many color variations. There are over 50 colors in Rémy Carriat's list (but they are often out of stock 😅) Philosophii has carried over 40 colors so far, including those that are no longer available. Good coloring is a characteristic of French leather.

✅Leather products suitable for Taurillon Clemence

Taurillon Clemence's soft and luxurious leather quality is useful for internally sewn handbags, wallets, pouches, etc.
Philosophii uses it extensively in its leather flap wallet series. This is also designed with internal stitching to bring out the charm of soft leather.
Items that are sewn on the outside may become crooked or lose their shape after being used for a long time. However, it is possible to manufacture the item, and we often accept custom-made items after explaining this point.

✅Durability

When you think of soft leather, you may think that it is not durable, but that is not the case.
As I wrote last time, Taurillon Clemence is a full-grain leather that retains the silver surface of the leather. And thanks to its elastic grain, it is resistant to scratches, and even if it gets scratched, it won't be noticeable.
Leather products in general are not good at getting wet, but they are relatively resistant to getting wet. The material does not absorb water or discolor easily, so even if it gets a little wet, there is no problem as long as you wipe it off immediately.

The weak point of soft leather is that it loses its shape and stretches easily.
At Philosophii, to prevent deformation and stretching as much as possible, when using Taurillon Clemence, we reinforce all parts by laminating a thin core material or leather lining.
The popular leather flap wallet also has a core material sandwiched between the leather on the front and the leather on the back. By adding a little effort, you can change the durability and the luxurious feel of the finished product.

✅The weight is a bit of a problem

Because the leather is soft, it gives the impression of being light, but it is actually a little heavier than other leathers.
It is heavy because it is made of shrink-processed leather filled with fibers.
Since the leather is very soft, if you try to make a bag that stands on its own, you will need to make the leather thicker or use a core material, so it will be a little heavier than if it were made from other materials.
However, at Philosophii, we create bags that are as light as possible while maintaining the fluffy feel of Taurillon Clemence, so they are much lighter than bags made by other manufacturers and brands.
Those who have actually picked up a Philosophii bag will understand this.

✅Why aren't Taurillon Clemence products on the market?

Compared to a while ago, there are many different types of imported leather that can be purchased in Japan. Taurillon Clemence is also commonly available. (It's not like we have a special route that other companies don't have.)

Although it is such a wonderful leather, there are several reasons why it is not very popular.

・High price <br>First of all, the price of the leather itself is high. The unit price is high, and since it is a full size (equivalent to one cow), it is difficult for a private workshop to handle multiple colors. Just buying a few pieces will easily cost you 100,000 yen 😅
And because the yield is poor, the product price is high.
If you don't have the skills to make something, but you also don't have the skills to sell it, you won't be able to sell it even if you make it. There is a high wall here that does not spread.
Since Philosophii is made to order, it can be used with expensive leather, but it would be difficult to sell it in stock because the cost of keeping it in stock would be too high.

・The supply is not stable <br>A major manufacturer with financial resources could probably commercialize and sell it, but the supply is not stable at all these days, so if the stock runs out, the leather will not come in for months... . And since major manufacturers sell from stock (they don't do inefficient things like custom-made products), they end up bearing the high cost of holding inventory.

- Processing requires skill <br>Anyway, it is soft and difficult to handle. Cutting, sanding, assembling, sewing, finishing...all processes require skill and care. Pursuing a beautiful finish and durability requires the extra effort (but takes twice as much time) to reinforce all parts. Also, finishing the edges takes some time.
Even though they are the same shrink leather, Togo and Shrunken Calf have a little firmness and are much easier to handle than Taurillon Clemence.

✅Why still use Taurillon Clemence?

This soft texture and beautiful color are unique and cannot be replaced with other leathers. We have a unique tailoring technique that brings out the charm of this leather.
We don't explain the accumulation in detail in customer service or on our website, but there are many customers who order this Taurillon Clemence because they are attracted to the quality of the material, so I think it's an attractive leather after all 😊

However, when you think about the cost, there is no profit at all~ 🤣Taki Sweat As long as there are requests from customers, I would like to use this Taurillon Clemence.

Thank you for joining us for this long talk.

Philosophy

Doi