About Furninova leathers
Furninova leathers are made by carefully selected pure natural products that vary in appearance in much the same way as wood and marble vary in appearance. That, in turn, means that all leathers are unique which contribute to telling the history of the material. A leather’s variations are not defects but should be seen as a sign that it is a genuine leather – its individual character is what sets it apart from artificial leather.
All Furninova leathers follow the REACH regulation and their highly set quality standards. Furninova want to ensure that each leather has passed significant scrutiny in regards to its minimalised environmental impact as well as to its manufacturing and assurance that it does not contain any harmful chemicals. Their leathers come from 6 different tanneries in Europe – mainly from Italy.
Aniline
Aniline leather is a premium leather. Pure aniline is treated with transparent, soluble dyes which preserve the natural surface of the skin so that all the animal’s pores, scars and marks remain visible. This is the most genuine and luxurious leather money can buy. Soft and supple to the touch, it has a rustic, textured look and every hide is unique, like a fingerprint. Over time, aniline leather develops the rich patina so desired by leather connoisseurs. Unlike most other materials, this leather only improves with age. That said, patina can be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on what you’re looking for. The minimal treatment of this leather makes it more prone to stains and scratches, and it normally needs more care than other types of leather. Only 5% of all leather on the market nowadays is suitable for aniline leather. If you want your leather to age beautifully, it has to be treated with leather care products designed for it. This should be done about 3 or 4 times a year.
Semi aniline
Semi aniline leather is an aniline leather that is dyed through and has been treated with an additional protective layer in order to increase its resistance to stains. The natural marks found on an aniline leather can also be found on a semi aniline leather in some cases. This leather is generally comfortable and offers good breathability. Semi aniline leather is less cold in winter, less sticky in summer and more resistant to stains and scratches. This makes it more user-friendly than real aniline and more suitable for households with pets and children.
Nubuck
Nubuck is a lightly ground, dyed-through aniline leather with open pores. Nubuck is a living leather that breathes and absorbs moisture, liquids and natural fats. The appearance can vary from hide to hide, with variation in texture and colour and marks from insect bites, scars and scrapes, for example. These variations are characteristic of real leather, proving that the leather is genuine. The leather takes on a character and patina all of its own through use, making it more beautiful as it ages. Our nubuck undergoes treatment to make it more resistant to spills and stains. This lasts about 2 years depending on use.
Corrected leather
Corrected leather is leather made from the top layer of the hide, where the outer layer has been ground away. This is done to remove various marks such as insect bites, barbed wire cuts, scratches and other stains. The skin is ground or buffed before a protective coating is applied and an artificial texture is embossed into the surface. This type of leather is the most regular across the entire hide in terms of pattern and colour. It has a less natural appearance than aniline or semi aniline, but is highly resistant to spills and scratches and so requires less maintenance than other types of leather. It is suitable for sofas for families with children, for instance.
What happens at the tannery
Tanning
This process, which takes about 48 hours, makes the hides stable and easy to handle. The hides turn a grey-blue colour.
Splitting
The 6 to 8 mm thick hide is split in two. The upper part is known as grained leather, while the lower part is called split leather. They use the split to apply parts to the furniture that are not seats and wear surfaces. The grained leather – the upper part of the hide, that is – is very hardwearing and is used in the furniture industry, for example, where high durability is required.
Sorting
Final inspection of the grained leather takes place manually. The leather is sorted according to damage to the grain: the finest hides with the least damage are turned into aniline or semi- aniline. Only 5% of hides are turned into exclusive aniline leather. Note that a sem ianiline leather may only be called semi aniline if the grain is untouched. The leather is called corrected leather if the grain is ground before dyeing. Hides with a lot of marks are ground and corrected and turned into a standard leather, which has an embossed pattern and no open pores at all – a corrected leather, but still a grained leather.
Dyeing through
All the hides are dyed through, which gives them their final base colour.
Drying
The hides are stretched and dried in different ways depending on what they are going to be made into.
Testing
Testing of the final product is very important in order to determine the durability, flame retardance, lightfastness, dry chafing, wet chafing, sweat chafing, finish adhesion, tear strength and thickness of the leather. All these aspects are tested on each batch of finished leather. It takes about 4 to 6 weeks to get from rawhide to finished leather.
