Leather Production
The Leather
All Berber Leather products are made using Full Grain Leather. Full Grain Leather is the part of the hide just below the hair, and is the highest quality grain of leather that you can get, even more so than Top-Grain Leather. Full-Grain leather uses all of the grain of the leather, and all of its natural markings, unlike Top-Grain Leather which sands some of these markings away. Whereas Top-Grain Leather will have a more uniform finish, Full Grain Leather showcases all the natural markings from the hide, which can include nicks and marks from the animals' life and part of what we love, and consider this character a unique factor in every Berber Leather Product.
Full Grain Leather is a lot more durable than any other leather on the market and as it ages it will create a beautiful patina, meaning that in years to come your bag will look even better than the day it arrived! For more information about how to keep your Berber Leather product looking its' best visit our Leather Care page.
The Tanning
The leather used in Berber Leather products are tanned in either Marrakech or Fes in a natural process that is centuries old. This is all achieved manually, without the need for modern machinery, and the process has barely changed since medieval times. The tanners only use 100% natural resources and no artificial products or chemicals. In the first part of the process, hides are soaked in vats containing a mixture of quicklime, wheat bran, water and salt. This caustic mixture helps to break down the tough leather and loosen any excess fat and hair that remains on them. After two to three days, the hides are then soaked in another set of vats of natural products, including the bark from mimosas, oaks and tamaris. These act as softening agents and allow the hides to become malleable so they can absorb the dye. The tanner uses his bare feet to knead the hides for up to three hours to achieve the desired softness.
The hides are then placed in dyeing pits containing natural vegetable dyes, such as poppy flower (red), indigo (blue), henna (orange), cedarwood (brown), mint (green), and saffron (yellow). Other natural materials used for dyeing include pomegranate powder, which is rubbed on the hides to turn them yellow, and olive oil, to give them a natural shine. Once the leather is dyed it is taken out to dry under the sun on the rooftops surrounding the tanneries or the local hillsides.
Bag Production
Berber Leather work with master craftsmen in Marrakech and Fes to produce the beautiful products that you can see on our website and in our shop. We have selected these partners to work with because we believe by working alongside them we can bring the best product possible to you. We also like the fact that our small UK business can work with other small Moroccan businesses, and that by purchasing their products we are supporting their families and livelihoods. We go out to Morocco regularly to make sure our relationship with these partners is kept strong, and also to work with them on any new products we wish to bring to market whilst still keeping the feel of Moroccan heritage that they can bring to all of our items.
Got a question? Have a look through our FAQs below, if you still can't find the answer please contact us and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
What kind of Leather is used in your bags?
We only use the highest quality tanned hides from Morocco. The majority of our products are cow leather although we do occasionally have goat leather bags in stock as well. All our bags use full-grain leather.
How are your bags made?
Our bags are handmade by master craftsmen in Morocco. We have been to visit all our suppliers and have spent a long time with them making sure our bags are made to the high quality we require.
Can I order a custom bag from you?
Unfortunately, we are not able to offer custom designs.
Am I able to check if my laptop will fit into one of your satchels?
If you are near to us, feel free to drop into our Richmond Yorkshire shop to try it out, or if you are shopping with us online just send the laptop dimensions using our Contact Form and we can let you know.
I'd like to see your bags in person, where can I do that?
We now have our first ever Brick and Mortar Shop in Richmond, Yorkshire. Our address and open times can be found on our Contact Page.
An item I want is showing out of stock, when will you get more?
Unfortunately, from time to time we do run out of items. We normally have more on backorder but as with all handmade products, they do take time to make. We are more than happy to add you to a waitlist, and we will contact you when the items are in stock again.
Do you offer a guarantee on your bags?
Our bags come with a 12-month guarantee against manufacturers defects. If you have a problem with your bag, please contact us and we will do our best to fix this for you. For bags outside of the 12 months, if there is a problem please let us know and we will do our best to resolve it.
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept most major credit cards through our payment provider, Stripe. This includes Visa, Mastercard and American Express. We also accept Paypal and Apple Pay. Please note in our brick and mortar store we are unable to accept American Express.
What countries do you deliver to?
We currently ship to the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Europe. If you would like us to ship to a country that is currently not on our list please let us know and we will see what we can do!
What are your Delivery Charges?
If you are in the UK, we currently offer free postage and packaging for all orders, and express shipping for £5.
Shipping to Europe is currently £10 and Worldwide Shipping is £15.
I've made a mistake on my order information and need to change it, what do I do?
No worries! Just contact Beki on sales@berberleather.com with your order number and the details that need changing and we will do our best to correct it. Please note that we aim to send bags the next business day, so the longer you leave it to correct this information the higher the chance we won't be able to.
I've ordered a bag, when will it arrive?
We aim to get all orders out within 2 working days with the majority of orders being sent next working day. Orders placed Friday-Sunday will be shipped the following Monday.
Depending on the size of your parcel we use both Royal Mail and Parcelforce for our standard and express shipping options.
We expect UK orders to arrive within 3-5 days of dispatch if you are using our free over £50 shipping option. For expedited UK shipping, we expect this to be 1-2 days from date of dispatch.
Delivery times for international orders vary by country. If your order was received more than 10 working days ago and it has not arrived, please contact us with the order number and we will be more than happy to help.
I would like to return an item; how do I do that?
Before returning any items, please contact us so we can start a return process with you. For further information about our return process please visit the Delivery and Returns Page.
My bag has a fault, what do I do?
All our bags undergo strict quality checks but unfortunately, sometimes mistakes happen. If you believe your bag is faulty, please email us on sales@berberleather.com with photos of the fault and your order number and we will do our best to resolve this. Please note that we do not consider the natural markings that the leather features a fault.
How do I care for my Berber Leather Product?
Please visit our Leather Care page for detailed information about caring for your Berber Leather bag.
I am interested in stocking your products, who should I contact?
Please visit our Wholesale Page for further information about becoming a Berber Leather Stockist.
My question hasn't been answered here how do I contact you?
Just fill out the form on our Contact Us Page and we will get back to you as soon as possible.