Blog
Displaying 1 to 5 of 60 blog entries
- 09/05/13 - Life in the Leather Industry need not be the pits
SLTC 116th Annual Conference
The long age of the SLTC Annual Conference is a measure of the introduction of chromium technology to the leather industry, as that was the moment when tannery owners started to hire chemists to manage their production. Testing pH and astringency by tasting it was no longer adequate as short process times, strong acids and precise timings took over from the traditions of thousands of years of "slow processing".
Given an attendance back up around 80, with a dinner assembly of over 120 the move to Northampton has brought the Annual Conference back to a much better level, along with the bank account. At the AGM it was clear that the Council is back in a growth mode. One noticeable comparison with the Freiberg Leather Days which were the two days before was the continued absence of the brands and car trade. In Germany it is clear that the car industry, seat makers and steering wheel producers see themselves as part of the trade. If the SLTC could start to attract the significant UK car industry, the Northampton footwear and leathergoods cluster, and some of the Brands from Mulberry to Next the SLTC would be transformed for the 21st century.
Atkin Memorial Lecture
Hugh Gilmour (see photo below by CPW ex FB) the Managing Director of the Langs of Paisley and told us that "life in the leather industry need not be the pits". Langs have an interesting history vegetable tanning pig skins for saddlery amongst other things until it changed to chrome tanning under Fred Tanning in 1950. This was about the same time my father changed Muirheads (which was not part of the SLG then) from vegetable tanned upholstery for Detroit to chrome tanned furniture leather for Scandinavia. These were both immense changes, yet both tanneries managed it without too many issues as far as I am aware.
In 1970, said Hugh, the then BLMRA had 200 members and in 1968 UK tanners employed 25,000 people. Today the industry has just 1250 employees in 22 plants. The big difference of the last few years has been the return of optimism. All the UK makers are growing, he said, all innovate and many are hiring designers. The message from the lecture was clear: tanning is now a good career.
Listening to Professor Yuko Nishimura, an anthropologist from Tokyo, who spoke next tanners have generally done well into the UK. While in Japan tanners form a low caste that are not spoken about, or indeed involved in at all, in polite society the UK leather guilds were rich and were hard for the Crown and Government to control. She said she thought the formation of the guilds in the 13th and 14th centuries reflected the development of self governance and was a foundation of democracy. Some 15% of the urban workforce worked in the wider leather industry, 22-25% in Northampton; this was no small sector of UK society.
Professor Nishimura then took us into the tanning technology which was born in Himeji, the main tanning centre in Japan, and demonstrated two leathers for which she and a retired tanner, Yoshinori Kashiwa, had brought samples. One, used to make boxes and masks, and historical protected by heavy coatings of black lacquer was more of a parchment. The other more interestingly was a snow white alum tan leather where the alum was derived from the soaking and washing period while the hides are held in the flow of the river Ichikawa that runs through Himeji. The river is high in concentration of alum from deposits further upstream. It appears this was discovered back around 500-800AD when leather making came from China via Korea. Three rivers were tried but only the Ichikawa was successful.
So two fascinating lectures set off an excellent day where in the afternoon the industry was updated on the current legal niceties of biocides, the latest on oxidative unhairing and enzymes, REACH and some managerial areas. The afternoon star act was without question Peter Laight who passionately tried to persuade the audience towards his updated film based digital coating approach and the advent of synthetic meshes to deal with the "dispersion of flatulence in aircraft seating". Just a perfect pre-dinner topic. Did you know that "odour is worse in 1st class seating today because of the greater use of pigmented leather"?
More fundamentally it cm across that Peter feels that the use of these membranes would allow us to use more layers of the hides, and still create that vital touch and feel that make leather successful with consumers (which comes from the very top few microns).
75% of the leather we produce today is commodity crap
His starting point was quick to bring us into focus: "75% of the leather we produce today is commodity crap"- not helpful when he also thinks that "65% of under 30s do not know where leather comes from" so that our leather product offering has increasingly become out of touch with modern consciousness.
- ( 0 Comment(s) | Post Comment )
- 07/04/13 - Freiberg Leather Days Talk
From Fashion Net Asia:
At the recent Freiberg - Leather Days, held in Germany on April 25th and 26th, one of the invited speakers was Mike Redwood, Visiting Professor of Leather at the University of Northampton in the UK and one of the founders of the Leather Naturally! Campaign.
Professor Redwood's presentation gives a brief history of leather, changing global demographics, marketing using social media, changing generational attitudes, the explosion of the middle class in China and their attitudes to consumer goods, satisfying customers and societal needs, branding and the importance of the Circular Economy.
The new marketing outlined in this presentation can be summed up as "Transforming lives, inspiring change" which allows the customer to decide and is allied directly to the philosophy of "Leather Naturally!"
This report is taking from Fashion Net Asia . An audio of my 25 minute lecture is to be found: click here
- ( 0 Comment(s) | Post Comment )
- 30/03/13 - The University of Northampton press release about APLF
Asia Pacific Leather Fair - Hong Kong
The University of Northampton and The Institute for Creative Leather Technologies once again had a strong presence at the annual Asia Pacific Leather Fair in Hong Kong.
The fair offers the opportunity for the University to showcase the exciting work that is being done in Leather Technology.
The event also provides an excellent opportunity to recruit prospective students to the Leather Technology course and to enhance business links.
ICLT is a globally unique research centre based at the University of Northampton.
The Institute engages in cross-disciplinary research that responds to the scientific and technological needs of the leather, fashion and footwear industries.
The University was delighted to welcome Leather Technology alumni to a formal drinks reception kindly hosted by The Leathersellers' Company, who are a key supporter of ICLT.
Professor Nick Petford, Vice Chancellor commented:" The Asia Pacific Leather Fair gives the University the opportunity to showcase the outstanding academic and technological advancement in Leather Technology that we have to offer our students.
The Fair provides an excellent opportunity to enhance our business links within the Leather industry, recruit new students from across the globe and to build upon the excellent reputation the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies already has".
Rachel Garwood, Director of ICLT commented:"Yet another encouraging leather fair! It is crucial for ICLT to have a presence at such events so we can communicate our new and innovative activities and courses to industry first hand together with the most important activity of student recruitment!
- ( 0 Comment(s) | Post Comment )
- 20/03/13 - Brazilian Leather Announces Great New Branding
Press release below from Brazilian Leather Industry on great new branding.
Brazilian leather's high concept among the largest and most demanding world markets has won a new attribute: The Brazilian Leather Project new visual identity campaign. Developed through a partnership between the Centre for the Brazilian Tanning Industry (CICB) and Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), the project gets a remarkable new look, more contemporary and in line with the country's unique features.
The project's new identity works on all the visual points of the brand: new logo, website, fashion editorial, communication material, souvenirs, stands design, amid others. "It is important to highlight that this is not just about improving the visual aspects of the Brazilian Leather, but also its verbal and behavioural speech, says José Fernando Bello, CICB's executive chairman.
According to Bello, the Brazilian leather and its high standard, recognised internationally, reaffirms the nation's positive aspects - the genuine essence of the Brazilian production regarding to the leather context. This new phase should boost further leather exports, which already demonstrated in 2013, an increase of 21% from the previous year.
The company Icon from Porto Alegre signs the project's new visual identity.
More information about the Brazilian Leather new visual project is available at www.brazilianleather.com.br.
- ( 0 Comment(s) | Post Comment )
- 10/03/13 - The Leather Forum - at APLF
This should be a great day, fully supported by LeatherNaturally!
The Leather Forum: Designing for LeatherA one-day forum aimed at educating designers and fashion industry practitioners on the beautiful qualities of leather and the techniques and trends for utilising leather in their designs, be it for garments, bags, footwear or small leathergoods.
Leather Forum: Designing for Leather
A one-day forum aimed at educating designers and fashion industry practitioners on the
The Leather Forum: Designing for LeatherA one-day forum aimed at educating designers and fashion industry practitioners on the beautiful qualities of leather and the techniques and trends for utilising leather in their designs, be it for garments, bags, footwear or small leathergoods.
Date: 26 March 2013
Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Leather Club located at Hall 1 Concourse
Language: Presentation in English
Fees: Free AdmissionTime
Topic
Presented by
Leather/Material Trends Forecast
StyleSight
Leather 101
Rachel Garwood, Institute for Creative Leather Technologies, The University of Northampton
Designing for the Circular Economy
Gunnstein Bjornsson, Atlantic Leather
15:30 – 16:30 Innovations in Leather Finishings
Mike Tomkin, Business Director Automotive Leather
- ( 0 Comment(s) | Post Comment )
