TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP
Depending on the Tango model, up to 4.5 meters of profile structure are cut and processed by hand on a single bag. This production step alone can take up to an hour to complete. The crafting of the relief-structure demands the highest technical skill from our bag-makers: experience, patience, precision and sensitivity.
But the effort is well worth it as it is the profile structures that give our Tango and Lyra models that certain something and underline the vibrancy of the beautifully vivid calfskin.
How do we create the characteristic GRETCHEN profile-structure in the leather of our Tango and Lyra models?
Just as the entire production of our handbags is hand-made, so are the profile structures 100% manual work.
On a strong and at the same time flexible support material, the so-called "Salpa", individually cut-to-size profile structures are applied by hand. Using a template, the pattern is first drawn onto the Salpa, as each Tango model and Lyra model has its individual silhouette to which the placing of the profiles are precisely adapted.
Once the "basic structure" made of salpa and profile is finished, the next step is to cover it with a matching leather part of glossy calf leather. With a blunt knife, the so-called "folding stick", the leather surface is now individually retraced by hand along each profile; first on the inner side, then on the outer side. The bag makers always work carefully from the inside to the outside to evenly smoothen out the soft leather, avoiding unwanted wrinkles. Only after all the profiles have been worked into the leather, creating the distinctive "relief structure" can this component of the bag be further processed.
We thus benefit from their expertise in the art of bag making which has been passed down over the generations. Another significant advantage is the exceptionally good infrastructure of Europe with its high-quality tanneries in Italy, France and Spain. It is our belief that a beautiful bag design requires an equally beautiful, high-quality leather to become a truly beautiful item.
highest standards with regards to a socially responsible, fair production and compliance with all environmental standards along the entire value chain are therefore guaranteed features of all of our GRETCHEN leather goods.
Hence, GRETCHEN bags are characterized not only by their unmistakable aesthetics, but also by their sophisticated craftsmanship and the noticeably high-quality Italian leather. They are a fashionable statement, yet deliberately different to short-lived fashion items. Each GRETCHEN bag is made to be a timeless, valuable and long-lasting favorite product.
At GRETCHEN our work is all focused on the product design - to create unique bags in a special design language and with a sophisticated, thought-out usability is our daily motivation.
The result is a diverse bag collection, in which the design and production of each individual model is so complex and demanding that the models are not suited for a mass production in the Far East. Instead, our bags are crafted by hand in small production volumes of strictly limited quantities in traditional European bag-manufacturing family businesses.
THE GRETCHEN-SIGNATURE DESIGN FEATURE: THE PROFILE STRUCTURE
TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP
At GRETCHEN our work is all focused on the product design - to create unique bags in a special design language and with a sophisticated, thought-out usability is our daily motivation.
The result is a diverse bag collection, in which the design and production of each individual model is so complex and demanding that the models are not suited for a mass production in the Far East. Instead, our bags are crafted by hand in small production volumes of strictly limited quantities in traditional European bag-manufacturing family businesses.
We thus benefit from their expertise in the art of bag making which has been passed down over the generations. Another significant advantage is the exceptionally good infrastructure of Europe with its high-quality tanneries in Italy, France and Spain. It is our belief that a beautiful bag design requires an equally beautiful, high-quality leather to become a truly beautiful item.
highest standards with regards to a socially responsible, fair production and compliance with all environmental standards along the entire value chain are therefore guaranteed features of all of our GRETCHEN leather goods.
Hence, GRETCHEN bags are characterized not only by their unmistakable aesthetics, but also by their sophisticated craftsmanship and the noticeably high-quality Italian leather. They are a fashionable statement, yet deliberately different to short-lived fashion items. Each GRETCHEN bag is made to be a timeless, valuable and long-lasting favorite product.
THE GRETCHEN-SIGNATURE DESIGN FEATURE: THE PROFILE STRUCTURE
How do we create the characteristic GRETCHEN profile-structure in the leather of our Tango and Lyra models?
Just as the entire production of our handbags is hand-made, so are the profile structures 100% manual work.
On a strong and at the same time flexible support material, the so-called "Salpa", individually cut-to-size profile structures are applied by hand. Using a template, the pattern is first drawn onto the Salpa, as each Tango model and Lyra model has its individual silhouette to which the placing of the profiles are precisely adapted.
Once the "basic structure" made of salpa and profile is finished, the next step is to cover it with a matching leather part of glossy calf leather. With a blunt knife, the so-called "folding stick", the leather surface is now individually retraced by hand along each profile; first on the inner side, then on the outer side. The bag makers always work carefully from the inside to the outside to evenly smoothen out the soft leather, avoiding unwanted wrinkles. Only after all the profiles have been worked into the leather, creating the distinctive "relief structure" can this component of the bag be further processed.
Depending on the Tango model, up to 4.5 meters of profile structure are cut and processed by hand on a single bag. This production step alone can take up to an hour to complete. The crafting of the relief-structure demands the highest technical skill from our bag-makers: experience, patience, precision and sensitivity.
But the effort is well worth it as it is the profile structures that give our Tango and Lyra models that certain something and underline the vibrancy of the beautifully vivid calfskin.