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STUDIO HOURS/EVENTS
1. No animal is slaughtered for its skin. We use only hides that are sourced as a by-product of the meat industry.
2. We only work with tanneries using best practices for water consumption and ethical selection of chemicals and their disposal.
3. No chromium VI. Harmful chemicals such as chromium VI are not permitted in Europe, though proponents of vegan leather point to this chemical as a reason leather is not sustainable. In addition to adhering to European law, most of the tanneries we work with are small and family-run and they don't want harmful chemicals in their working environment.
Criteria for Selecting Leather
THE LOVE OF LEATHERCRAFT. PRECISELY. SUSTAINABLY.
Form Leather is a new bespoke leather atelier handcrafting minimalist cases for technology in Bedford Hills, NY. The laptop cases and Airtag keychains are made by wet-forming leather on wood forms, an old leatherworking technique. We combine European saddle-stitching with die-cutting, selecting each step in the process for precision and beauty. The leathers are selected from the best tanneries in Italy and France, after careful consideration of their environmental practices. Because each piece is made one by one, we are able to offer many customizations, such as painting and inlaid leather.
Form was founded by Christine Valenti, who has been designing leather goods for 18 years. After years of working with samplemakers and factories, she became keenly aware of the impact of the samplemaker on a prototype. The small details, such as the radius of a curve or the size of the stitch hole make all the difference in the overall impression of the final piece. Because those details are so important, she learned the craft in order to execute them exactly the way that she wanted. In doing so, she fell in love with the process itself. “There's a beautiful balance between the physical precision and the strategy that is completely fulfilling to me,” she says.