leather -

Nappa is a prime cut of animal hide, so it is more expensive than most types of
leather. Most of it comes from cows, but it also can come from calves, lambs or
goats, and it is the top layer of hide that is softer than other layers and more
durable.

Nappa leather is a full-grain leather. The leather is made from kid, lamb or sheep
skin, and it is ‘unsplit’. The tanning process for this leather makes us of
artificial tannins such as aluminum sulfate, chromium sulfate and other such salts.
Nappa leather is typically dyed so as to obtain various colors.

How Is Napa Leather Made?

There are three main steps in turning animal skin into leather. They are preparing
the animal hide, tanning the leather, and finishing the leather. In the first step,
creating Nappa leather is no different from creating full grain and top grain
leather. However, for top grain leather, the natural grain is sanded or buffed to
remove any imperfection. The difference in creating napa leather in comparison to
another leather type is because of the next step.

The tanning process is different in making Nappa leather. Making Nappa leather uses
the chromium tanning process. It is faster than the natural method of tanning. The
process involves using chemicals that breakdown the animal skin and turns it into
the leather. Leather manufacturers use chromium or aluminum sulfate to tan the
leather. These chemicals give the leather its softness. It also increases the
leather's life span. This also makes the leather easier to clean since napa leather
is dyed in water-soluble colorants. It is also easy to dust and it resists liquid
spill better than other types of leather.

Napa leather is likewise beautiful and very appealing. Moreover, unlike other
leather types, Nappa leather comes in different colors. Napa leather is therefore
not only flexible and soft, but it is also beautiful as well. Because it is a
beautiful and soft leather, napa leather is a popular choice for a car interior.
More specifically it is a popular choice for luxury vehicles interiors because of
its refined look and feel. Other than being soft, beautiful, and easy to clean,
nappa leather interior also has an added benefit. If you struggle with upper
respiratory conditions, Nappa leather is known for being hypoallergenic. This is
highly beneficial especially inside closed spaces, like car seats or leather seats.

Properties of Nappa Leather

The leather is very soft and pliable. It is not hard like other leathers and does
not crease.
The leather is tough and durable in spite of being soft. It is not easily spoiled.
The leather has an intact top-grain. Hence, it is more “breathable” and does not
retain moisture.
The leather often develops a patina over the years that adds to its aesthetics.

Goods Made from Nappa Leather

Nappa leather has been commonly used to make what are referred to as specialty
goods – bags, wallets, toiletry kits and goods of personal use. Nappa leather
however, has also been used for car furnishings. Nappa leather seat covers are
available to go with many cars, such as a Ferrari, Porsche or a BMW. Footwear made
from this leather is also available. Goods made of Nappa leather look really
beautiful, with the original texture and marks or blemishes of the animal skin
preserved.

What is Napa Leather Used For?

Known for its soft, flexible, and smooth qualities, what are the many uses of napa
leather? It is popular for many car owners and car upholstery businesses. They say
that it is the ideal type of leather for car interiors, especially for the seat.
They describe napa leather as being "buttery soft", a perfect seating surface.
Moreover, other than being comfortable to sit in, napa leather is durable and easy
to maintain. Something that is very convenient for car owners. It is also easier to
clean liquid spills, especially for cars without cup holders. Napa leather also has
a very luxurious look. That is the reason why it can be found on most expensive
cars. It is superior in quality and style in comparison to other leather types.

Its other uses include furniture upholstery (such as in a sofa), clothing, wallets,
gloves, handbag, and shoes. Nappa leather is also popular for heavy-duty items such
as holsters or utility belts.

pictures -https://steelhorseleather.com/blogs/the-journal/napa-leather-complete-
guide

Goat- suede leather

Refined buffed pure- Aniline dyed, tear resistant bookbinding / lining and garment
leather. Excellent results in blind tooling by 80°C. Limited results in foil
gilding upon technical request. This leather has a soft luxurious body touch and a
very even and full body thickness: 0,4 – 0,5mm.

This leather is finished on the flesh side and has a velvety nap. The velvety nap
on the flesh side is the beauty of this leather. Shoe Upper, garment and other
fancy products are manufactured from this leather but
mostly it is manufactured from cow hide or goat skins.

What is Suede Leather Made of?

Suede leather is made from the middle layers or inside face of the animal hide.
These are strong layers of leather, comprised of collagen fibers. These layers are
not as strong as Full Grain and Top Grain leathers, though make great leather for
creating suede due to their softness and flexibility. To understand more about the
layers of the hide and why they’re different, let’s look at each.

Generally, the hide layers closest to the surface have the tightest, densest grain.
This is because the animal’s skin closest to the surface served to protect it. This
could be from sun, wind, rain, and abrasions encountered in daily living. For a
detailed look at grain leather in an article I wrote, click here.

As one goes down to the deeper layers, the skin accommodated more within it such as
fatty tissue, and other organic substances. As such, the collagen fibers were
looser to fit all of these substances in. The leather from these layers, such as
Split Leather, is not as strong as Top Grain and Full Grain leather, simply because
the fibers are less dense.

In Suede leather, the material is made by taking a leather cut from the corium of
the hide, and sanding the inner surface (the “flesh side”) of dense fibers to
produce the raised-fiber, textured side. Because the fibers are somewhat loose,
they result in a fuzzy surface of leather fiber.

Suede leather is made through a process called tanning. Tanning includes of up to

25 steps and can take from days to months depending on the process used. Often,
suede leathers are tanned using a chromium tanning (chrome tanned) process that
takes only a few days. Chrome tanning is known for producing leathers that are soft
and flexible.

Chromium tanning also yields leathers that take and hold colored dye relatively
well. This produces a very visually appealing, and soft leather suitable for a
range of leather goods including bags, gloves, purses, wallets, and a number of
fine leather goods and personal accessories. Suede leathers also come in many
colors making then both physically soft and visually stunning.

Leather goods made from suede have become relatively popular in the commercial
market. For example, Prada makes duster coats and skirts. Coach makes boots, Brioni
make jackets, and Fendi makes totes and bags. Many of the same manufacturers make
boots and shoes, including Kate Spade New York.. Commonly, these include:

Handbags
Luggage
Pouches
Jackets
Watchbands
Keychains
Purses
Dresses
Automobile Upholstery
Sandals
Boots
Shoes
Belts
Wallets
Furniture Upholstery
Gloves
Briefcases
Travel Bags
Notebook Covers
Mobile Electronic Device Covers and Cases

pictures - https://www.libertyleathergoods.com/suede-leather/

Bubbled / pebbled grain leather

Bubble leather is as good and durable as other leather depending on how it has been
tanned and processed.

It’s a matter of preference whether a consumer likes bubble or pebbled leather or

flat grain leather.

Bubble Lamb (or shrunken lamb as it is often called) is a combination-tanned

unstructured lambskin with a dramatic shrunken bubble grain, and soft, cushiony
quality, making it perfect for lightweight apparel, accessories, handbags and small
leather goods.

What Is Pebble Leather?

Pebble leather is a specific type of textured surface treatment for leather. The
surface of the leather is indented by a press that creates rounded bumps or raised
areas that resemble tiny pebbles across the leather.

How Is Pebbled Leather Made?

Once the leather is tanned and dyed, it is sent through presses that have pebble-
etched metal plates. The leather is imprinted with the reversed pebbled pattern so
it creates the pattern, similar to how a minted coin is made. The consistent bumps
or pebbles create the pebble textured surface.

How Natural Pebbled Leather is Made

These steps are how natural leather is made with a pebbled surface.
Step 1: Tanning
The leather to be used is prepared. This involves all the steps in the leather
tanning process to make it ready for commercial use. Generally, calfskin or cowskin
hides are used. A natural, vegetable tanning process can utilized to produce a
quality leather. Or Chrome tanning can be used to produce a very soft, supple
leather.

Step 2: Dyeing
Once tanned, the leather is dyed to introduce one of many vibrant colors. Often,
colors can be signature colors of brands. They might vary by year, or by season.
Colors can also be the preference of the leather worker. Many tones, variations,
and dye types are used in this step.

Step 3: Pressing
Once dyed, the leather is now run through machines that have large, metal plates.
The plates are etched in reverse with the pebble pattern. This is so when they pass
the pattern into a material, it will look as desired. Think of this like the dies
used to make coins, they’re cut in reverse, so when they strike the metal, a
properly-oriented coin surface comes out.

The pebbled pattern is a textured, rounded, random design. The plates, with
tremendous force, are then pressed into the leather, leaving its permanent shape in
the material.

Step 4: Finishing
Now that we have a colored, and textured leather, it needs to be finished. This is
where some of the great qualities of different leather finishes are added. Usually,
a clear, protective finish is applied. The finish helps to protect the leather
underneath, and also leaves a surface that is scratch and water resistant.

Other finishes or layers can be added as well, underneath the top layer. They might
be to add a visual effect, such as a soft shine. Or, be a particular color or
translucency that interacts pleasingly with the colored leather underneath it. In
some cases, as automobile upholstery, fire retardants and UV protectants can be
added as well.

Pebbled leather is used for a lot of leather goods. Some examples include Gucci
using it for wallets, belts, and bags. Burberry uses pebbled leather for wallets,
backpacks, and bags. Gucci uses it for belts, bags, and wallets. Salvatore
Ferragamo uses it for shoes, belts, and accessories.

Allen Edmonds uses it for belts. Tummy uses it for personal accessories such as
wallets. Some of these designers will name their pebbled leather with a unique
name, to set it’s unique style apart from other designers and manufacturers.

pictures - https://www.libertyleathergoods.com/pebbled-leather/