Craft
A DALEA bag is made by one person from the first cut to the final polish. Nothing is outsourced, nothing is glued that should be sewn, and nothing leaves the bench before it is right.
01 / 06
The hide
We buy full-grain calfskin from European tanneries and use only the tightest part of each hide for the body of the bag. Full grain means the surface is left as it grew; the marks of the animal are part of it, and no two bags share a grain.
02 / 06
Cutting
Every panel is marked and cut by hand with a knife, not stamped. The artisan reads the hide first, placing each pattern where the grain is most even, and where the leather will stretch least.
03 / 06
Saddle stitching
Two needles, one waxed linen thread, one hole at a time. A saddle stitch locks itself: if a thread ever wears through, the seam holds. A machine cannot make it. Most of the sixteen hours are spent here.
04 / 06
Edges
Raw edges are sanded, painted, dried and sanded again, five times over. The result is the smooth dark line you run your thumb along without thinking.
05 / 06
Assembly and finish
Handles are rolled around a core and stitched closed. The suede lining goes in by hand. Brass hardware is fitted last, and the bag is conditioned and polished before it is numbered.
06 / 06
The number
Each bag is stamped with its serial inside, and the same number is written on its certificate. The register of every piece stays in the atelier for as long as the house exists.
Around sixteen hours
of one artisan's time in every bag.
