Bag making with a long history is probably something few people would look for in our region. The artistic processing of leather into unique bags or belts usually brings to mind a French manufactory in a small basement of a Parisian house or an Italian rural workshop somewhere in the low hills of Tuscany. However, with a little searching, we can also find the handiwork behind the most amazing leather products here in Bratislava.
"Each piece is made by one person from start to finish. It often takes up to twelve hours of work to make one bag. We are not a production line, but a custom-made production of the German school. It is demanding and professional work, which is incomparable with large-scale production abroad," says the owner, looking at four people diligently immersed in work. The view is complemented only by the smell of leather and the occasional sound of a sewing machine.
A small, inconspicuous building hidden on the border of old Trnávka and Ružinov hides a real treasure in its bowels. We came across the small factory that produces all of our leather products more than ten years ago, and each visit only confirms the first-class quality of their work.On our visit today, the owner welcomes us at the entrance to tell us how leather belts , bags and wallets are made. He is a renowned expert, bag making has been his livelihood for almost forty years. He even works with his four employees when necessary to help meet demand. Compared to our visit to the shirt factory last month, this time we found ourselves in a completely different world. The entire factory, if you can call this small workshop that, consists of just three rooms. In the first one, our eyes are immediately drawn to a large rack with hundreds of rolls of leather in all the colors of the rainbow. This is where all their creations begin their lives.
"The first step is the selection of leather. We work only with the best and highest quality leathers, which we purchase in Italy. Our priority is suppliers who are known for the quality of the leather material. Our privilege is to work only with cow or buffalo leather," the owner begins our tour.The next step is to cut the material into the model we are going to make. It is cut by hand, based on templates that are created in advance for each model of bag , wallet or belt, again by hand. "Templates are created only after the zero model is made, on which the designers collaborate. They come up with a drawing, according to which we create a sample. The designers then say what they would like to change and adjust. Only then do we create templates, based on which we produce."
The individual pieces of leather then need to be cut to the required thickness. “Raw leather is too thick for the final product, we have to cut it using a machine with extremely sharp knives to achieve the fineness we need,” explains the owner.
The next step in production is minor preparation. Initials are burned onto the necessary parts, a metal logo is inserted into the leather, a zipper is sewn in, and the lining is cut.
When everything is ready, the worker takes all the parts into the other room. He places them together on a table and begins sewing all the parts together. Again, he works entirely with his hands, with the only help being a sewing machine.
