Behind the Scenes – Part Due di Quattro

“Ciao, ciao!!!” Raniero exclaims as he welcomes us all in for another visit to his tannery ELAL PELLI!  Woooo hoooo, we cannot wait!  During our first journey into his world, we learned about leather color.  How it is applied and the way a crystal can deepen the natural hue of leather.  Today it is all about texture!  Or lack thereof in some cases.  Which is your favorite?  Incredible amounts of texture or silky smooth and unvaried?  Either way, Raniero has us covered and here is how!

 These two machines he calls “Pressa” and immediately draws our attention to steel plates that are used to emboss the leather.  Where he is pointing, there is a top and bottom stamp steel plate.  Both are not required to be used at the same time, there is occasion when only the top plate is used.

   Here is a close up of a top stamp.  The press stamps are quite heavy and very expensive.  

One machine is much older than the other, and Raniero shares with us that the older machines are often preferred.  Pressa is the process that is used for our Africa leathers.  Marco orders the leather from one tannery and once the hides are received he brings them to our Raniero for stamping.  

Before us now is an incredibly large machine called “Bottale”.  It has massive gears on the side that rotate it in a circular motion round and round.  The purpose of this machine is to make the skins less structured and more pliable especially after they have been embossed.

A close up of the gears on the right hand side of Bottale.

The interior has large wooden pegs that extend from the barrel-like structure and as the leather rotates, it become softer.  The wood is smooth and quite beautiful!  Generally speaking, 50 leather skins can be placed inside Bottale at one time.

There is a large heavy wooden door that is attached to the opening after the leather is placed inside.  Then the door is safely closed.  Sometimes the leather stays in for 15 minutes and sometimes even 3 hours, depending on the desired softness you wish to achieve.  The leather literally tumbles to softness!

Our friend Raniero closes the protective gate and places the power switch in the 'on' position!  All set!  I can feel that soft leather already, can't you??!!!

Our last stop today is with “Stiratice”.  It is a large machine that irons out the leather.  It reaches high temperatures of 80 - 90 degrees Celsius (approximately 176 – 194 degrees Fahrenheit).

 Although it is very hot while making the leather smooth, the heat does not change the color of the leather.  Amazing!  He places the leather on the roller and the machine pulls it in.

On the opposite side the leather arrives quite smooth.  The entire process takes only a few moments! 

We remain in awe of the world that Raniero has shared with us and humbly thank him with all of our hearts!  His talent, knowledge and gift to work his magic with leather is with us every day as we proudly carry our Massaccesi handbags!