Chevre Chagrin: Eggplant

Chèvre Chagrin is a top shelf goat leather. Everything from the hide sourcing to the finishing is honed to perfection. These full aniline hides highlight the natural beauty and variation of the leather by revealing the subtle changes in detail like the tighter grain at the spine and the larger grain at the shoulders. Because there’s no masking imperfections with the way these hides are colored, only the best-looking hides make the cut for this type of leather.

The secret to achieving the superior texture of Chèvre Chagrin hides is the use of mimosa and a 100% vegetable tanned process that dates back nearly 100 years. No, that’s not just the champagne and orange juice cocktail; it’s also an oil extract from the tree of the same name.  This means that, unlike chrome-tanned leather, it will take to edge burnishing beautifully.

This combination of full aniline color and 100% vegetable tanning also means it will develop a nice-looking patina with age. While it will require more maintenance, having this natural leather will be worth it because of its amazing look and feel. In addition to being mimosa bark vegetable tanned, this leather is also hand finished in the traditional Chagrin way using a cork pad to even out the surface, leaving a rich textured look that is highly sought after in leather goods.

Like our calf hides, we offer Goat Chagrin in half hides that are the perfect size for experimentation or in full hides that can be used to create bags or other larger items. The sizes of the half and full hides range from 2.25 -6 square feet.

You can use goat chagrin for an entire project or combine it with smoother leather such as our boxed calf to create contrasting textures on the inside and outside. For example, you can use chagrin on the inside of a wallet for the pockets and smooth calf for the outside.

This particular goat chagrin has a great flesh side in addition to the face side. You can further burnish the back of the hide to use it for single layer construction, but it’s also thin enough to glue to another layer of goat or calf creating a finished face on both sides. All of our Chèvre leather is full grain without any buffing, splitting or correcting. This means that only the clearest skins make the grade and all of the details and grain are the natural features of the hide.

Features

• Thin 0.8-1.2mm (2-3oz) leather for smaller items or to combine with an outer or inner leather lining
• Stiffer temper relative to the thickness for sturdier construction
• A vegetable tan process that achieves a great look naturally
• Allows for easier edge burnishing
• Full aniline coloring, highlighting the full grain natural beauty of the hide
• Unique Chèvre grain that has a refined textured look

Grain Close-ups