Circularity

We have a great respect for the materials we use. Our designs are crafted to minimize the cutting leftovers. The larger ones are used for creating smaller purses, wristbands and keychains etc. So far we have managed to reduce the leftovers to only 2-4%. Our goal is to reach zero waste in the next few years.

Changeable parts enable simple maintenance and after-care. Face-lift of used products is made easy and allows us to direct refreshed bags into the next rounds of usage. The big material surface without any seams also allows some redesigning if necessary (e.g. if stains and scratches occur it’s possible to add a pocket etc) or create something completely new out of the used material.

If your bag ever gets spoiled with stains that won’t come off or if its function has no use to you anymore, return it to us, and we will give it a new life. In return you will get store credit depending on the condition of the bag.

We use vegetable tanned leather from Europe – e.g. tanneries like Tärnsjö Garveri from Sweden, Sørensen Leather from Denmark, tanneries from Italian Vegetable Tanned Leather Consortium and Splenda Tannery from Spain. Our seasonal colors (like violet, turquoise and fuchsia) come from England JT Batchelor. For some occasions we also order chrome tanned leather from Palomares tannery from Spain. Usually we avoid using chrome tanned leather but sometimes it can be more suitable for some special projects.

Vegetable tanned leather does not come without problems. It has many issues in the beginning of its lifecycle – land exploitation and methane emissions from growing cattle, animal rights, high water and energy use. There are also negative effects on the environment during the tanning process. On the positive side – upgrading raw hides into a high quality leather has much less environmental impact compared to burying or burning them and it is still the longest lasting material for bags.

We are constantly keeping ourselves updated with non-animal alternative materials suitable for bags. So far, unfortunately we have not found one that would not have big environmental problems of their own. Some contain plastic, some are still not available in mass scale, some need to be transported to us from other side of the world and so far we have not found one to last as long as vegetable tanned leather.

In general, a vegetable tanned leather bag needs minimal care during its lifetime. You can do it yourself by following simple instructions or bring it to us and we do it for you – we will clean it, moisturize it, replace the worn-out parts and pamper the overall look as well.

The handles, pockets and other details of the bag can be easily refreshed or changed when they have worn out or the user would like something different in function or decor.

Local manufacturing

Most bags are made in our studio in Tallinn, Estonia. All these bags are marked with the names of the artisans who made it. Once you receive the bag, look inside it to discover who has made it. In addition to our crafters, occasionally a small family owned local manufacturer Kolm in Tartu (located also in Estonia) helps us out. They have a long experience with leather work. We are in frequent contact and the bags that are made by them follow the same technical specifications, quality and care as is our studio.

A handmade leather bag is an investment that will serve you for decades and even lifetimes. When buying a bag you should know why it costs what it costs. To illustrate this, we are disclosing full information on this. This breakdown is made as an average of the bags that are in Stella Soomlais’ collection.