{"product_id":"two-hand-stitched-vegetable-tanned-leather-card-wallets-saddle-stitched-in-teal-and-russet-contemporary","title":"Two Hand-Stitched Vegetable-Tanned Leather Card Wallets, Saddle-Stitched in Teal and Russet, Contemporary","description":"  \u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo small leather card wallets, both made by hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first is \u003cstrong\u003edeep teal\u003c\/strong\u003e, a slim folded card case sewn with thread dyed to match, with a \u003cstrong\u003erusset leather retaining strap\u003c\/strong\u003e crossing the spine to hold the fold closed and cards in place. Open it and the inside face is \u003cstrong\u003etan suede\u003c\/strong\u003e, the flesh side of the hide left exactly as it came off the skin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe second is \u003cstrong\u003erusset tan\u003c\/strong\u003e throughout, a plain two-pocket card sleeve sewn in \u003cstrong\u003edark thread\u003c\/strong\u003e, with the same suede interior and a shaped scoop cut into the front panel so a card can be pushed up with a thumb.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLook closely at either seam and the stitches \u003cstrong\u003elean\u003c\/strong\u003e — each one sits at a slight angle to the line, and the angle alternates. That is the signature of hand work, and it is not something a machine produces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe edges are cut clean and burnished, the corners are rounded, and both are unlined, unstiffened and completely free of hardware.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe slanted stitches mean these are saddle-stitched, and that is worth understanding because it is the reason to buy a handmade wallet at all.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA saddle stitch is made with \u003cstrong\u003eone length of thread and a needle tied to each end\u003c\/strong\u003e. Both needles pass through the same hole from opposite sides, then the maker moves to the next hole and does it again, by hand, the whole length of the seam. It is slow. A short card wallet is a hundred passes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat you get for that is a seam that cannot run.\u003c\/strong\u003e A sewing machine makes a lockstitch: two separate threads that loop around one another inside the leather. Cut one, and the rest can pull free — the line unzips. A saddle stitch has no locking loop and no second thread to fail, so cutting a stitch costs you that stitch and nothing else. The seam stays shut, and it can be repaired by hand where a machine seam usually cannot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe leather is vegetable-tanned\u003c\/strong\u003e, which is the other half of the argument. Veg-tan is finished with tannins from bark rather than chrome salts, it starts stiff and pale, and it does something chrome leather does not: it takes a \u003cstrong\u003epatina\u003c\/strong\u003e. The colour deepens where hands touch it, the surface picks up a shine at the corners, and within a year a wallet carried daily is a different object from the one that came off the bench.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeaving the flesh side exposed as suede rather than lining it is a deliberate choice too — it keeps the wallet thin enough to sit in a front pocket, and it grips the cards so they do not slide out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThese are contemporary work, not antiques, and they are described that way.\u003c\/strong\u003e Both are clean, unworn and unmarked — there is \u003cstrong\u003eno maker's stamp, brand, logo or label\u003c\/strong\u003e anywhere inside or out — and they are offered \u003cstrong\u003eunattributed\u003c\/strong\u003e as the work of an unidentified hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"8\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"width:100%; border-collapse:collapse;\"\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eField\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eDetail\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eTwo hand-stitched leather card wallets, sold together\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eOne folded card case in teal with a russet retaining strap across the spine; one flat two-pocket card sleeve in russet tan with a thumb scoop to the front panel. Both unlined and unstiffened, with no hardware.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eConstruction\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSaddle-stitched by hand\u003c\/strong\u003e — one thread, two needles, every hole worked from both sides, producing the slanted alternating stitch line visible along each seam. Edges cut, sanded and burnished; corners rounded.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eVegetable-tanned leather with the flesh side left as raw suede inside; thread colour-matched on the teal wallet and contrasting dark on the tan\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eNone. No maker's stamp, brand, logo or label on either piece. Offered unattributed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eContemporary. These are modern hand-made pieces and are not represented as vintage or antique.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eExcellent and unused. Both are clean and sound with no creasing, cracking, scuffing or edge wear; every stitch is intact and evenly tensioned with no loose, skipped or broken thread; the burnished edges are smooth and unmarked; the russet strap is firmly set and holds under tension. The leather is still stiff and pale-toned, as new veg-tan is, and will darken and soften with carrying. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost people carry a wallet far bigger than what is actually in it, and a card case fixes that in a day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFour or five cards, a folded note, a key card — that is the whole modern wallet, and either of these holds it in something that disappears in a front pocket instead of wrecking the line of a jacket. The teal one closes under its strap for anyone who wants the cards held; the tan one is faster to get into.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo is the useful number. One goes in daily rotation and one stays for travel, for a suit pocket, or for keeping business cards separate — or one is carried and one is given away.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe colours are the pleasure. Deep teal is an unusual thing to own in leather, and it reads as a choice rather than a default; russet tan is the colour veg-tan wants to be, and it is the one that will change most visibly with use.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat change is the point. In six months these will be darker at the corners, shinier where thumbs go, and marked by what they have been carried against. A machine-made wallet in coated leather looks the same on day five hundred as on day one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA note on care, and with new veg-tan the first months matter most. \u003cstrong\u003eCarry it before you condition it.\u003c\/strong\u003e Let the leather take its own shape and colour first; conditioner applied to a pale new hide darkens it immediately and permanently, and you lose the patina you would otherwise have earned.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKeep it dry.\u003c\/strong\u003e Vegetable-tanned leather water-spots badly, and a drop that dries on the surface leaves a ring. If it gets wet, blot it and dry it slowly at room temperature — never near a radiator or a heat vent, which makes leather hard and cracks it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the first season, feed it once or twice a year with a neutral leather conditioner applied thinly and buffed off. Use no saddle soap on the burnished edges, no silicone spray and no shoe polish, all of which build a film. Do not overstuff it — an unlined card case is meant to stay slim, and forcing ten cards in will stretch the pockets permanently.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48042415128681,"sku":"VE-0713","price":145.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/DE415A94-4D2F-4263-AA9C-58F8504CA38A.jpg?v=1789150265","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/two-hand-stitched-vegetable-tanned-leather-card-wallets-saddle-stitched-in-teal-and-russet-contemporary","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}