Leather – all natural tan, esclusive choice of European hides, no waste: This is the material fitting to a top quality shoes to measure production.
Searching for the best all around the world, I found Presot leather just around the corner of Venice.
The visit of the tannery was a very sensual and exciting experience to me.
Here I want to introduce you to my new sole leather choice: Presot
The Presot tannery processes cowhides from southern Germany and Norway, all deriving from the food industry. A selection of suppliers is taken based on their breeding conditions and nutrition status of the animals.
The slow tanning process takes place in tanks and wooden barrels.
Different vegetable tannins are used for the process, manly from chestnut wood but also Quebracho from South America and Mimosa from South Africa. All from responsibly managed forests.
The particular blend of tannins gives the peculiar elasticity and flexibility to this leather, as well as the particular color defined as “Presot color”.
The addition of natural pigments in the barrel allows to obtain some colors such as dark brown, cognac and a particular black obtained with a preparation based on cuttlefish ink.
The leather dries away from sunlight in order to avoid oxidation of the tannins.
The production cycle lasts from fifty to seventy days: the fourth ingredient, therefore, next to selected leathers, water and tannins, is patience. Each back is different, a union of the animal’s experience and an artisanal process influenced by time, permanence in water and the blend of tannins. Traces of all the process remain in a card that accompanies the leather from its entry to shipment.
In 2018 Presot registered the no-waste leather brand which certifies the quality and traceability of the material. It is a sustainable and innovative leather because, still following tradition, it recovers and enhances all processing residues.
The history of the tannery begins in 1932. From the beginning, the tannery has specialized in sole leather. In 1954 the Italian explorers reached the peak of K2 for the first time. All mountaineers, including Sherpas, wear thermal shoes made with Presot leather.
Since then, four generations of Presot have succeeded each other at the head of the company which today is managed by Achille, Federico and Eugenia Presot, in spite of the ancient ban on women that precluded access to the business at the female line of the family.
For more information please visit http://www.conceriapresot.it/
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