The Modus Operandi: The Precision of Splitting Leather
After the leather is cut, a Lotuff bag is one step closer to being born. Splitting, the next step, is a meticulous procedure that adds strength, durability, and structure to the soon-to-be bag. Rather than use unlined leather or thick, bulky hides, we slice our uncorrected hides through lengthwise. Two of the inner sections are then laminated together to generate a slim, sturdy piece.
Others might skip this stage. It's incredibly time consuming and entails over a hundred steps that all need to help perfectly. For example, some pieces of leather need to be meticulously separated by weight, down to one tenth of an inch, and then paired together to ensure uniformity all around.
Yet this attention to detail means that the bag will emerge with a refined, almost engineered look that's certain to stand the test of time. It's a subtle and unique touch that requires strong attention to detail and high levels of skill to master. But it really makes a huge difference in the end result.
Like any creative process, all the split and fused layers merge together to become one single entity that serves as exquisite proof of the effort that has gone into its creation. Splitting isn't the most artistic step, but it involves its own kind of technical inventiveness, which eventually reveals the elegant structure that defines a Lotuff bag.
- Liz Silvia