Our leathers

The Masses partners with only the best tanneries in the United States, the U.K., Spain, France and Italy. The majority of our products are made with leathers from Horween Tannery in Chicago, Illinois. Horween was established in 1905 and has perfected the art of tanning North American cowhides using liquors and tannages derived from oak bark and other plant-based materials. This is truly some of the finest leather in the world. This makes Vegetable tanned leather much more environmentally responsible than leathers tanned with chromium salts (“Chrome tanned” leather) but also much more labour intensive and expensive.

Hardware

The Masses exclusively uses solid brass hardware to guarantee that all parts of your new handcrafted leather product will age gracefully and improve with time. Solid brass and full grain vegetable-tanned leather will develop a rich patina to give your item individual character and history as you continue to love it.

We only use metallic RiRi and YKK zippers.

Care

Leather items are incredible durable and become more beautiful with use and wear. The Masses finishes all our products with a blend of oils and waxes to repel water and keep the leather soft and supple. If your item looks starts to become dry or brittle, apply a thin layer of coconut oil, beeswax or your favorite leather conditioner with a soft cloth and wipe off excess. Leather should not be submerged in water, but occasional dampness will not cause serious damage.

Some of our favorite leather conditioners are Black Rock Leather n Rich , Smith’s, and Saphir Pate de Lux.