Jump to content
Renoir

Uk Leather Supplier - A.w. Midgley & Son - Review

Recommended Posts

While researching suppliers, it's a bit tricky sometimes to tell whether a supplier or warehouse is suitable for you. Some require a minimum order size, may be online only, and may not have a way of viewing what you're buying (e.g. ebay). With this in mind, I wanted to write a short review of my experience at suppliers so that others might benefit.

A.W. Midgley and Son is a UK supplier (website http://www.awmidgley.co.uk ) based in Cheddar, in the south west. It's reasonably accessable from Bath, Bristol, and is just over an hour's drive from where I live. On the website they say they are happy for customers to call at the warehouse, so I gave them a visit.

Google/satnav directed me to the buisness park (BS27 3EB) easily, and they are located towards the end of the park - just keep driving and looking, a couple of turns later you should see it on the right - there is a small carpark for visitors. On opening the door, you walk straight into the warehouse - a veritable playground of leather hides - in a hundred different colours and patterns.

https://plus.google.com/photos/104400411479647274773/albums/6028107499498037585

We were met by a very nice chap, I think his name may be Will (from http://mirjamidesign.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/luxurious-leather.html). He was extremely helpful and knowledgable, and although I had a vague idea of what I wanted (some thin veg-tan natural, maybe coloured) he helped by showing me several natural veg-tan skins and explaining a lot. He also grabbed a huge stack of mixed single veg-tan shoulders, and went through them, one by one - explaining a bit about the different types.

With his help, I chose 3 coloured veg-tan shoulders and a natural veg-tan calf hide. Pricing was very good too, and they seem very happy to give even the casual hobbyist a great customer service.

They seem to have a pretty wide variety of hides, different weights/thickness, and plenty of colours. They also have pretty large stocks of popular (e.g. blacks and browns) - if you wanted a larger order.

I would definitely recommend a visit for anyone in the south west - you're bound to find something nice, and I am definitely coming back for more in the future. Great place.

post-44031-0-95639500-1403529700_thumb.j

post-44031-0-94420300-1403530452_thumb.j

post-44031-0-55075800-1403530469_thumb.j

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Renoir - thanks for this review, its extremely useful. I'm Bristol/Bath based and just starting out making things from leather. I think I'll give them a visit. Is there anyone else in the South West worth considering? I did speak to Thomas Ware Tanners in Bristol, who were also extremely friendly and helpful but suggested I'd probably get more choice and availability from someone like AW Midgley, albeit at a slightly higher price, as they (Thomas Ware) are mainly making to order in a limited choice of colours.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Anything in north west?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Anything in north west?

I'm in Scotland just on the border and the closest I have is LePrevo in Newcastle, or the Identity Store in Matlock, Derbyshire

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm a saddle maker and mainly buy from Pittards and Sedgwicks. I have bought from Andrew Midgley in the past and can say they are a great company to deal with they are very helpful and take time to listen. Depending what type of leather you are after the other company I found helpful is Marcus Gear in Walsall and I think they will sell single hides.

uksaddlery.com

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Anything in north west?

Have you tried http://www.neumannleathers.com It's in Bury so not too far from you. I popped in last year and and picked up a few bits. It seemed to be mainly upholstery leathers but the owner was happy to show me round and gave me a cracking deal on a few bits.

Edited by Petewon

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...