9 Timeless Benefits of Leather

Noble Macmillan has provided leather goods to its customers for over 30 years. Over this time, we have acquired both an understanding and an appreciation of leather matched by few others in the retail business.

As our loyal customers, we know you share a similar appreciation for fine leather goods and we would like to remind you of why exactly that is. For this reason, this article will highlight the timeless benefits of leather – particularly the leather used here at Noble Macmillan.

What is leather and how is it made?

It is only fitting then that we begin with where leather comes from… and more importantly, what is leather? How is it made?! Although leather can be sourced from many different animals, the leather used to bind our products is made from calfskin. It is made from the animals hide, which is a by-product of the meat and dairy industry.

How do we maintain the quality of the leather?

The upbringing of the cow will have a direct impact on the quality of the leather. For example, if a cow’s skin (hide) has been marked or scarred in any way this damages the hide and reduces the amount of usable material.

The specialists at Mahi leather also indicate that the hide is greatly impacted by the cow’s diet – highlighting that cows that have been fed on grains and growth hormones ‘make for a poorer quality hide’.

As a result, in order to produce a high yield of leather and leather that is of a high quality, the industry discourages mistreatment of the animals.

Why use leather?

Designed to last a lifetime Noble Macmillan’s classic leather goods are created with both practicality and luxury in mind, combining timeless craftsmanship with modern style.

For over 30 years we’ve been synonymous with quality leather albums, photograph frames and diaries, and have also become famous for stylish and unusual games and travel accessories. Here’s why you should use real leather:

1. Timelessness: Beyond the benefits of leather during the process of making it, we use leather for the qualities it possesses once made. Despite how tastes have changed over time, real leather has a timeless appeal and ages extremely well.
2. Durability: Leather is a strong and durable material making it excellent for travel and trusting it to hold precious items. Importantly it is also flexible. In fact, over it becomes more flexible while maintaining its shape and strength.

2. Style: Undoubtedly style is of course a great part of the reason why leather has remained such a popular material for decades. Prior to leather’s great success in the fashion industry, it was a material used for covering not just the body but to protect goods due to the usefulness of its many qualities. It is still showcased in this way, whether it be a handbag or trinket box, it remains to make a statement nonetheless.

4. Flexibility: The material can be left its natural colour or dyed to suit either a traditional or more contemporary taste. This material can be embossed - just as we do to our products - to add a touch that is both personal and a reminder of where the item has been and who it belonged to.

5. Aroma: Leather has the most wonderful smell. This is a quality that adds to the sense of class and timelessness of the product it makes - just as it does when binding our beautiful albums or forming our elegant wallets and other accessories.

6. Environmentally friendly: An important benefit of leather is that it reduces the potential waste products of a huge industry worldwide. Far less chemicals are needed to treat the hides throughout the leather-making process than are used in other industries which produce synthetic materials.

7. Naturalness: The natural graininess that comes from the hides is both beautiful and kind to the skin. Moreover, the hides can be made into many different types of leather – evidence of which we can see across the fashion industry.

8. Strength: In addition to its stylish look, leather has remained a popular material due to its sturdiness. It is for this reason that it makes an excellent hard-wearing material to protect your precious memories in our beautiful photo albums. 

9. Breathability: One of the many great natural characteristics of leather being made from animal hide is its breathability. An added benefit of this is that it makes the material easy to clean. This makes it the perfect materials for household items on display - like our photo frames - which need cleaning from sitting out or from being passed around. 

The Noble Macmillan Leather

As summarised in the ‘About us’ section of our website, we use a range of fine quality leathers at Noble Macmillan, predominantly Calfskin & Cow Hide. Over the years we have also introduced other materials such as embossed card and rexine to keep the albums and other products affordable.

Sustainability is something that we have also been striving to improve on over the years, and we pride ourselves on the fact that all of our leathers are from sourced sustainably in British, Italian & Spanish tanneries.

Why else use Noble Macmillan’s leather?

Noble Macmillan has a fine heritage under its belt. With the recent acquisition of ‘Walter Newbury Binding’, who have been creating beautiful books for over a century for politicians, royal family and film sets alike, we can now extend our bespoke range, working completely with the customers vision, to turn bespoke items around astonishingly quickly. Using the traditional skills of edge gilding, marbling, book binding and sewing, Noble Macmillan focuses on age old craftmanship.

We are unashamedly traditional in our approach, celebrating centuries old techniques and classic style, complementing this craftmanship with both conventional and contemporary colours and ideas.

We’ve been making photo frames, albums and small leather accessories for more than 25 years and we’re still based in our original home – in a cobbled Kensington mews. Our products range from being impeccably grand to strikingly contemporary – representing the best of British style without ever trying too hard.

We never forget that we create albums, journals and books that hold a person’s most precious thoughts and it’s our job to do many of life’s most important milestones justice. We cater for everyone, for any given occasion, including mens leather accessories for the gentlemen with great taste. 

Noble Macmillan uses the finest materials and craftsmen, whether it’s in our workshop in Wiltshire, bookbinders in London or in the Andalusian town of Ubrique – a place famed for the quality of its leather goods.

Don't forget to take a look at our collection of leather photo albums and leather photo frames.