Henk Berg bags are known for the unique, Scandinavian-influenced style- but we frequently hear our customers comment on how good our bags ‘feel’.
And they are right- there is a difference in our leather compared to many other leather bags and wallets on the market.
Each cowhide we use is carefully selected for its quality but the real difference is in the colour treatment we use called ‘vegetable tanning’.
Every Henk Berg bag starts with amazing leather.
We select the highest quality vegetable tanned leather for our bags.
Vegetable tanning is a traditional process which shows leather in its most beautiful and natural state. Unlike with modern tanning processes, vegetable tanning retains the softness and natural qualities of the leather. It takes time, real skill and craftsmanship to tan leather in this manner. You could say that the design process starts at the tannery!
Each piece of leather is unique like a fingerprint, no two pieces are the same.
Another important part of natural vegetable tanning is the reduced impact on the environment. Raw materials used in the process included natural tannins sourced from bark, wood, fruits, pods and leaves.
It’s true that the vegetable tanning process is more complicated, lengthy and not as cheap as other methods- but we think the result is worth it.