StevenSiegel Report post Posted August 30, 2010 A Skirting Story (This story was originally written about 1 year ago. It is about the engineering of a NEW leather. If you cannot cut 1 saddle from 2 sides, then you have received the wrong leather by accident. Sides are typically 23-31 ft/each WITH NO RUNOFF in the shoulder. You won't believe it unless you see it. We have been meddling with formulations on the re-tannages as we have received customer feedback. We have had customers call us who were paying $95/side for what they thought was a very good grade of skirting and told us that not only is this better, but it is MORE ECONOMICAL) Siegel of California-110 Easy St- PO Box 1700- Buellton, CA 93427 USA 800.862.8956 or 805.686.2700 www.siegelofca.com (not currently on web site until Kate & I get it done!!) siegel.leather@gmail.com I take pride in improving on available leathers to the trade drawing on a lifetime in this business and the mentoring from my dad, my uncle and my grandfather who was the founder of our company. Directing a tanner to modify their tannage for a new product not otherwise available which helps our industry is much more satisfying than finding a way to squeeze an extra profit from our customers. In addition to our regular trade, we have some high profile clientele such as the NYPD mounted police department, the US military, some of the best polo players in the world, the tack for the winners of a dozen Kentucky Derbys, high end boots made in Argentina for clients such as HRH Prince Charles, bookbinding leathers for The Library of Congress, Harvard, Stanford, etc. A month ago I was hired as an expert witness in leather for a case on the East Coast. All of these are so fulfilling to me as well as the customers who call and are happy with the product and/or service which they receive from our company. Because of my business philosophy, we do something which no one else in this industry offers: free freight on orders over $75 and free pickup on leather which doesn't meet the customer's expectations (some minor, reasonable, requirements of course....like don't cut up the leather and ask for a return...or let us know within 15 days AFTER your receipt). The reason that we do this is because leather is so difficult to describe in words or pictures that we want you to know that we are trying to act as your eyes to give you the leather that you expect, not the leather that we want to get rid of. Most importantly, I wanted to share with you the "story of our new USA skirting:". We used to offer skirting from Westfield Tanning until they went out of business. The leather was very well received by our customers and was even used by West Brothers in the production of a custom made saddle for one of our Presidents. I started working with a tanner in Argentina who was purchasing North American steers to produce a Golden type skirting. The first couple of shipments were very nice so we increased our orders substantially. Unfortunately, the leather which arrived in the next few orders was much too soft and we made a claim with the tanner. The skirting, though being 12/14 oz, when put grain side up on a table and folded with the backbone towards the belly would just lay in place like a limp rag. (The skirting should snap back and not be able to stay in this position.) The US agent who came to inspect the leather found nothing wrong with the leather and we were stuck with a financial loss. However, we decided to try to work with the tanner on future production as our earlier shipments indicated good potential. As a result, I made a trip to Argentina every 6 weeks to inspect all leather coming to us, about 2000 sides each visit. I took notice of which North American hide sources resulted in the best production of skirting. The hides from a broker in Canada produced by far the nicest skirting. They had a nicer grain and very interestingly to me, they did not run off in weight around the rib cages (this is a difficult defect to readily detect) These visits lasted for a little over a year. Our customers were very happy with the leather. After about a year, my visits stopped. The tanner forbade me from pre-inspecting our leather after I received a shipment which was not the leather that I inspected and I made a complaint. For the last couple of years we have been purchasing our leather elsewhere and I am concerned about the lack of consistency in the leather which we have been receiving. Sometimes it's great and sometimes there are too many butcher cuts and/or other defects. It's difficult for us to give all of our customers the leather which they need. A couple of months ago I approached the hide broker in Canada, who owns a US tannery, to see if we could have a skirting made to our requirements which is very different from the company's current production of skirting. The first two sample shipments sold out very quickly and we have just received our third shipment. I have called most of the saddle makers who have purchased the skirting and so far we have an excellent response. I have been writing about this for weeks. The leather is made by agreement for Siegel of California, Inc only by Wickett and Craig. We are using only their top selection of hides. As we become aware of problems, they will be rectified whether in tannage or hide selection. The price is 169.95/each. I hope that if you are a custom saddle maker you will give this a try. Not only do we hope to be able to give you better value for your money due to excellent cutting yield, but we hope that you will come to be able to depend on the product always being consistent... for example no hard spots . Hope to hear from you soon with a trial order. Of course, your satisfaction is guaranteed Regards, Steven Siegel, CEO Siegel of California, Inc 800.862.8956 or 805.686.2700 West Brother Saddle made for the President with our previous skirting. Gauged at Center of Side.... It is incredibly difficult to find leather with this consistency from other sources Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirtclod Report post Posted August 30, 2010 (edited) Steven do you have any of the new skirting that is the golden color? The russet i guess you would call it is to dark when i oil it for what i want to make. They are big nice clean sides. Edited August 30, 2010 by dirtclod Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevenSiegel Report post Posted August 30, 2010 Steven do you have any of the new skirting that is the golden color? The russet i guess you would call it is to dark when i oil it for what i want to make. They are big nice clean sides. The skirting which we are offering is the "generic" golden color. We have had very good responses on the oiling. As you are not getting the desired color when oiling, do you mind telling me what type of oils you are using? I could contact some of our existing accounts and get some feedback which I will be happy to share privately or publicly. Or, if you wish, contact me directly off line at siegel.leather@gmail.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
