My leather story
What attracts me to leather…..
Over the last year and a half I have been realizing that leather
seems to fascinate me quite a lot. I kind of, let it pass for a while thinking
that this is perhaps just a passing attraction. But it seemed to take on a
force of its own, brushing aside any protestations that I offered. I got drawn more and more into studying,
understanding and working, even possessing, more of leather.
I guess, what really attracted me to leather is the sheer
loyalty it shows towards its owner. Unlike artificial materials. The artificial
material, it appears, begin to deteriorate from the moment one purchases it. On
the shop shelf, the artificial material item is probably at the peak of its
life cycle. On the other hand, a leather item on the shop shelf might just have
begun its life cycle. Its maturity extending deep into the future, counting in
years, perhaps decades.
The leather item will be used, abused, handled by many,
roughed up in trains, cars, airports, five star hotels, rustic villages,
deserts, outbacks and elegant porches. In all imaginable places. And in the
process a well made leather item will keep getting better and better. It might
soften up in a sweet way, develop its own unique patina, reflecting the many
adventures that it would have experienced along the way.
And in all this it keeps getting better, even stronger as it
takes on the elements with its owners. This is in contrast to non-leather items
which keep losing the beauty they displayed on the shop – shelf. They start
becoming ragged, losing their sheen and generally buckle under the strain,
only to be thrown out in a year or five. Just about the time a leather item might
begin coming into its own.
This sheer loyalty that leather expresses towards its owners
fascinates me completely. In an age of use-throw and short term loyalties
(applying to everything, from things to even human relations), leather offers a
long term friendship very confidently. That has to be fascinating.
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