Guidi Leather Tannery

I've been running a blog about boots and leather footwear for years, and for this list, I teamed up with Ben Robinson, the guy behind the internet's one other prominent blog about boots and leather footwear: Stitchdown. He also runs an annual competition for the most beautifully aged leather boots. (It's the Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome, and it is cool.) courtesy of the Stitchdown Patina Thunderdome! "There are a million elements of leather and how it's made that are just endlessly fascinating," says Ben. "The deeper you get in, the more the leather obsession begins to overtake you." There are countless of tanneries out there but if you’re looking for the best possible product, this list is intended to give you some names you can put your confidence in. The two leather nerds behind this list, Ben (left) and Nick. How We Made This List The two of us were longtime journalists in New York City who then used that experience to get really good at researching the leather industry. I've filmed videos at several of the tanneries on this list for my YouTube channel while Ben runs the annual Stitchdown Expo, which many of the tanneries on this list attend as part of its mission to bring together the world's most dedicated footwear enthusiasts. (This year the Expo is in Chicago in November, don't miss it!) Maryam horsehide on our pal Ticho Blanco's limited edition Vibergs. Now, this list is not a list of every good tannery on Earth. Not being on this list doesn't make a tannery "bad." We are not that self-important. "It's impossible to say!" says Ben. "What is your use case? What is your purpose? What do you simply like? Luckily, there's a great answer for all those, but it's not always gonna be the same answer." It’s also worth remembering some tanneries make great leather that's kept secret. For example, nobody will tell me who produces the famous acorn leather on my Trickers boots, above. (I asked at their factory and at their store.) So, this list isn't a compilation of the world's only good tanneries. Rather, it's a list of great tanneries you can trust. Thanks to Ticho Blanco for his pics of these Viberg boots in Horween's most famous boot leather, Chromexcel. Horween Leather Company: America's Finest Chicago, USA Founded in 1905 and now in its fourth generation of ownership, it's fair to say that Horween Leather Company makes the most beloved casual boot leathers in the country, chief among them Chromexcel. They also produce what may be the hardest-to-produce shoe leather, Shell Cordovan — and many would say they do the best job of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v4hpDO1W5-vY "They also make all the football leather for the NFL, all the basketball leather for the NBA, all the baseball glove leather for Major League Baseball," says Ben, listing with his fingers. "Basically every application that you have for footwear, Horween is probably going to make a leather for it — besides, say, dressy calf leather." Seen on Bridlen's country derbies, C.F. Stead's Janus Calf is considered about as high end as suede gets. Charles F. Stead: Sultans of Suede Leeds, England Family-owned and based in Leeds since the 1890s, Charles F. Stead — also known as "CF Stead" or just "Stead" — is perhaps the most celebrated maker of suede in the world. If you think of suede as dainty and delicate, Stead's output will convince you otherwise: sure, the white suede in the picture above is hard to keep clean, but they also makes very thick, hardwearing suedes like Waxy Commander and Rambler. How Waxy Commander leather ages, courtesy of Stitchdown.com. Through partnerships with many prominent retailers, Stead maintains a towering presence in the industry and has manufactured signature lines for popular companies like Adidas and Doc Martens. Famously, they collaborated on the Clarks Desert Boot with footwear luminaries C&J Clark some 65 years ago. Today, those iconic boots come in more styles and colors than ever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vX7DTfAPFMWU My slightly-too-in-depth video from my visit to CF Stead. "One of my favorite kinds of suede is something that CF Stead also specializes in: kudu suede," says Ben. "It's this absolutely beautiful, really durable suede, and I found that if you want your suede to look the same forever, kudu suede doesn't change as much with wear." Ben's Briselblack (left) and Viberg (right) boots made from Opera suede. Conceria Opera: Italy's Finest Suede Tuscany, Italy "Another suede tannery that I absolutely love is Opera out of Italy," adds Ben. "They can do incredible printed leather, but they just make like a really, really nice suede in a range of different thicknesses in upwards of two hundred colors." Calfskin is the go-to for dressy footwear because of its fine grain. (These are Meermin's tassel loafers.) Tanneries d'Annonay & Du Puy: Kings of Calfskin Annonay / Chadrac, France These tanneries are both French, make dressy calfskin, and are owned by the same company, so we're putting Annonay and Du Puy together. In 1838, Etienne Meyzonnie purchased the business from a master tanner named M. Romain. Things got exciting in 1872 when Eugène Meyzonnier succeeded his father and developed a waxed calfskin, intended for footwear, which he sold exclusively in Great Britain. This waxed calfskin, commonly called Box Calf, is their claim to fame and is now a hugely widespread leather that's used on countless dress shoes. "Absolutely exquisite stuff," says Ben. "Calf is in shorter supply than ever because people don't eat as much veal, so it's the hardest it's ever been to make beautiful, consistent calf leather." On Allen Edmonds' dress boots. Indeed, while it isn't always used this way, calfskin is the go-to for formal footwear because it has a very fine grain: it doesn't wrinkle or age as dramatically as a casual leather. It stays smooth. Regardless of management (they're owned by Hermès right now), Tannerie d'Annonay and Tannerie du Puy still supply high-end box calf leather to some of the most influential footwear companies in the world. Further Reading Calfskin vs Cowhide: A Leather Tanner Explains I headed to Tennessee to interview a man who makes every kind of calfskin, from dressy to rugged. Learn more → Badalassi Carlo's Minerva leather in cognac, seen here Almost Vintage Style's White Kloud boots Badalassi Carlo: Vegetable Tanning Virtuosos Tuscany, Italy Most leather is chrome tanned, but before it was invented in the 19th century, humans spent thousands of years tanning leather with plant matter high in tannins, like the bark of mimosa and quebracho trees. Vegetable tanning is slower and more laborious, but many purists prefer these old-fashioned methods. Tuscany is famous for their tanneries and Badalassi Carlo is often seen on some of boots made for the most discerning of leather enthusiasts. Another shot of Almost Vintage Style's Badalassi boots. So enmeshed is this tannery in the world of vegetable tanning purists that its owner, Simone Remi, is also the president of The Genuine Italian Vegetable-Tanned Leather Consortium, which “regulates, preserves, and guarantees the production of vegetable-tanned leather made in Tuscany.” Their hyper-local, traditional approach to manufacturing means that their leather isn't as common as Horween or others on this list. My Chelsea boots from Briselblack Bootmaker, made with vegetable tanned kangaroo leather from Maryam. Maryam: Veg Tanning, Horsebutt, and Kangaroo Tuscany, Italy Based in the tanning district of Santa Croce sull'Arno in Tuscany, Italy since 1943, Maryam is a small, family-owned operation best known for its deerskin, and vachetta, horsehide and kangaroo leathers. "I think that Maryam is simply one of the best, one of the most creative, and one of the most consistent tanneries in their niche," says Ben. "But they also really understand the market. They make custom stuff for a crowd that's often looking for something fresh and different and that can be with color, with different finishes, the way it's dried or shrunk — there are a million things you can do." Maryam horsebutt on some boots from Willie's, perhaps the Philippines' most famous bootmaker. Pic courtesy of Stitchdown.com It's worth noting that when I went to Indonesia to interview the guys who make boots for America's biggest boot nerds, every brand I visited said that they sell more Maryam horsebutt to their U.S. customers than anything else. It's just the go-to leather for guys that love boots that are really high quality and really durable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vxBY6zFHQbNQ Lefarc: Mexico's Most Sustainable León, Mexico Lefarc was founded in Mexico 25 years ago by fourth-generation tanner Luis Ernesto Collazo. Though they may lack the long, storied history of a Horween or Stead, they’ve quickly risen to the top of the industry as a maker of fine leather, supplying brands such as Thursday Boot Company, Wolverine, Timberland, and Saddleback. My 'Terracotta' Captain Boots from Thursday Boot Co are made with Lefarc leather. Lefarc has dominated a very competitive Mexican market while maintaining a strong emphasis on sustainability: they have their own water treatment plant, recycle two thirds of their waste, use solar energy to power their facility and consume 50 percent less water than other tanneries thanks to their use of polypropylene "Qualus" balls in the tanning process. They also produce no chromium-6 — a toxic byproduct of chrome tanning that can cause serious environmental damage at poorly regulated tanneries. Shell cordovan from Shinki Hikaku, one of the world's most esteemed producers of horse leather. Courtesy of Almost Vintage Style. Shinki Hikaku: World Leaders in Horsehide and Cordovan Himeji, Japan "Shinki" is a family run business that was founded in 1951. Besides being the only Asian tannery on this list I really wanted to spotlight it because of their world famous mastery of horse leather, which is seen around the world on the highest quality boots and leather jackets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v5WxP9Ao9t2o Roger joined me to review three boots that are all made of Shinki horsehide. "The list of tanneries that can make a shell cordovan that is like even remotely in the class of Horween's shell cordovan is very, very short. Shinki's in it," says Ben. "And then they do horsebutt leather in a lot of different finishes. I think that Shinki makes some of the more striking and hyper distinctive leathers in that category, for sure,. When they show up on boots, it's kind of a moment every time. It's a rarity in the best way." Perhaps Red Wing's most famous leather is the Oro Legacy they use on their 875 moc toes. SB Foot Tanning: USA's Most Underrated Red Wing, USA Much like Horween, Minnesota’s SB Foot has occupied the upper echelon of American tanneries for more than a century. It was founded by Silas B Foot and George Sterling in 1872, and today the tannery is most famously associated with the Red Wing Shoe Company, who bought it in the 1986 after being operated by the Foot family for more than a century. My Russell Moccasin's Backcountry boots in SB Foot leather "You'll basically never see "Red Wing leather" outside of a Red Wing product," says Ben. "But they make plenty of stuff that Red Wing is not using and it's all really good." SB Foot has partnered with the US military for generations, supplying leather for soldiers’ boots since World War I. Wickett & Craig leather on Bordon boots. Wickett and Craig: America's Vegetable Tanner Pennsylvania, USA For over 150 years, Wickett & Craig has been a cornerstone of American leather. Based in Curwensville, Pennsylvania, this tannery is renowned for its focus on vegetable tanning, using old fashioned techniques to make leather to withstand the harshest environments. That means they make hardy boot leather, sure (look for them on a lot of Washington's Nicks Handmade Boots) but they're also often seen on tough luggage and saddlery. In fact, one of their best known articles is called bridle leather, which you'll also often see on Filson's bags. Ben's Wickett & Craig boots, also from Onderhoud "Interestingly, they get the best raw materials by basically controlling their own herds — they get first pick," says Ben. "The way their leather ages, there's something that's just very real to it, and it should be expected. Your leather is not going to look the same on day ten or day one hundred as it does on day one. And I think that's fantastic. If that's not something you like, I would stay away from veg tan leather boots." courtesy Stitchdown.com He likes to talk about the imperfections you're a bit more likely to find on veg tan leather, like these boots that Onderhoud made for him in Indonesia. "There's this huge mark right on the toe, and when I saw it, I was like, 'Oh, yeah,'" Ben laughs. "Rizky (of Onderhoud) showed it to me while he was making it, and I was like, 'Put it right on the toe.'" Wickett & Craig boots made by Onderhoud, worn by Stitchdown. The Bottom Line If you’re looking for the best possible leather, you can’t go wrong with any of these tanneries — but, again, there are a ton of great tanneries out there. I just couldn't write a fifty-thousand-word article. I'll include a few more as this article ends: with a quote I pasted from our interview transcript in which Ben celebrates the rich tanning history of the American Midwest in particular: "The Midwest was a tanning powerhouse for generations in the US, and now there's this amazing revival. You've got Horween, you've got SB Foot, you've got Seidel in Milwaukee, you've got Law in Milwaukee, you've got Gallun Leathers. "The bulk of the stuff in the Midwest is this really heavy duty, purpose driven work leather. It wasn't designed to get beautiful, but it does. It really does. "And there's just something that's so like wonderful and authentic about that to me. And all of these tanneries are doing something that feels really honest."

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