Horween Leather

Founded in 1905, Horween Leather Company is one of the oldest tanneries in the United States, located in Chicago. Well known for their unparalleled level of quality, consistency and innovation, their leathers today are still hand made using old world techniques and equipment with modern day updates in the process.

 

Chromexcel 

Chromexcel is a type of leather that is specific to Horween. It is characterized by a rich pull up effect which is the temporary lightening of colours when folded or flexed. A 89 steps process over 28 days, it is highly supervised as various naturally occurring materials such as hides, retannages from tree barks and more comes together, increasing complexity when achieving uniformity and consistency. After the initial chrome-based tannage, the hides undergoes vegetable retanning using Horween's guarded recipe before being hot stuffed with a special blend of oils, waxes and greases which is responsible for the pull up effect. Lastly, the hides are hand-rubbed with coats of aniline finish for an even staining. This combination tanning imparts the leather the best of its qualities, making them soft, supple, durable, mouldable for comfort and the ability to develop a great patina over time.