In order to create the finest quality leather, we source the finest quality hides. From field to finish, we pride ourselves in holding the knowledge of the exact age and provenance of every piece of leather, thanks to their unique tracking numbers.
The hides arrive at the lime yard in our Chesterfield tannery. They are stripped, cleaned and plumped for hydration. This is when our craftsmen stamp the batch with their unique tracking number to confirm their provenance and assist the quality control process.
The leather then arrives at the tan yard, where the traditional tanning takes place. The leather is lowered into pits filled with all natural tanning agents, such as vegetable tan, and left to work. This stage ensures the longevity of the leather by gently and naturally preserving it.
The process then moves on to the drum shop where they are placed in large traditional drums filled with leather dye and oils. This is how the leather obtains its essential colour and softness.
This stage takes place at either our tannery in Chesterfield or our dedicated finishing shop in Walsall. It entails various steps, which are all carefully completed mostly by hand, including oiling, staining and pebbling.
Arriving from the finishing shop, the leather is hung in a temperature-controlled room. We ensure that the room is supplied with constant airflow and that no direct heat is applied to the leather. The leather remains in this room until it has reached a moisture content level of 25%.
The leather is now complete and ready to leave our site after intensive quality control measures. It is sorted and stored in our finished goods store ready to become a high quality leather product.
The ‘All China Leather Exhibition’ is fast approaching and this will be the second trade show in China that the group will have exhibited at this year. The Clayton Leather Group’s range of products will be exhibited on the Brothers Leathercraft stand, who signed an official distribution agreement during the APLF show in Hong Kong.
Clayton & Sons have extended the range of colours in horse front leather and will be our main feature over the three days. The leather is manufactured at the group’s tannery in Chesterfield, England, and offers a fantastic vintage finish which is perfect for jackets and small leather bags.
The Clayton leather Group started producing horse front leather in black and brown some 8 years ago. However, this year is the first time the finishing team have created colours that stray away from the still very classic shades. Our colour palette for horse front now consists of Black, Brown, Red, Blue, Natural, Green, Burgundy, and Conker.
The range will be displayed on stand number E1/C12a during ACLE.
Follow the group on social media platforms during the show for the latest updates.
“A great video insight into the manufacturing world of leather and why it’s a thriving industry to be a part of –
filmed and edited by media student Aaron Freeman from University of Northampton & Luke Sheehan from FireSparkleProductions truly showing off the opportunities for our younger generation to get started and sustain their jobs in leather.
Our industry is clearly keeping them enthused day in day out, and they are most definitely helping to shape the future of leather trade in the UK!”
Can you spot some familiar J & E Sedgwick faces??
In March, Hong Kong’s APLF leather and materials show provided J & E Sedgwick’s the perfect opportunity to premier some exciting new colours in actual leather, as well as some fashion accessories we had manufactured using our leather in the new colours. These new colours demonstrate that we are aware that the leather industries colour palette is ever changing.
This was the first time new colours have been introduced by Sedgwick’s since the early millennium, therefore it was important to focus on keeping the same recognised finishing technique Sedgwick’s is globally known for.
The Sedgwick colour palette now has seven additional fashion colours which are – Baby Blue, Pink, Charcoal, Apple Green, Red, Purple and Grey which will continue to evolve as the market changes.
Alongside this colour launch, we exhibited for the first time under our new corporate identity and group branding which reinforces the relationship between the four companies working together under The Clayton Leather Group brand.
Use our enquiry forms on our contact page for more information on our new lacing hide colours.
The Clayton Leather Group are proud to announce a major supply agreement with major US leather retailer Tandy Leather.
Tandy who have 100 plus company owned outlets in the USA,UK,Spain ,Canada and Australia will begin stocking a range of Clayton Leather Group hand finished leathers in June 2017.
Ian T Walker, Group Executive Chairman remarked that both companies have a rich heritage going back more than a century so it’s fitting that Tandy decided to add our Field to Finish hand finished leathers to their range. Our leather addition extends Tandy’s commitment to offer the best quality materials and value to their end customers.
Mark Angus, President Tandy Leather commented Clayton Leather Group has been producing high quality true English Bridle Leathers for over a century and we are really excited to partner with them on bringing these leathers to our customers.
Since 1975 an impressive oil painting has taken centre stage in the boardroom of J & E Sedgwick, previously purchased from a Tannery in Birmingham called Muskets. The serene landscape of oak bark collecting in Cannock Chase has been a strong focal point of how proud the company is to be situated in the West Midlands.
At the end of 2016, a decision was made that the offices were in need of reorganisation during 2017. The changes will allow several employees to share their working space in what was the old boardroom and their existing offices will be transformed into ‘hot spot’ meeting rooms to accommodate the ever-evolving company.
Due to the reshuffle of office, this now means that the painting will not fit into the space it once sat and will need a new owner.
‘The Woodlanders’, painted by David Bates in 1897 is an incredible piece of artwork measuring 102cm high by 149cm wide, recently restored by Jane Mockett from Jane Maguire Fine Art Conservation in Shrewsbury. Thanks to Jane the oil painting is now, somewhat, back to its former glory showing its previous undecipherable beauty.
As you can imagine, being held behind the glass frame for the past 40 years took its toll on artwork. Removal and replacement of old dirty varnish and attention to the lifting/cupping of the paint proves to be a common thing with a painting of this age.
Artist Biography – David Bates (1840-1921) was born in Cambridge and worked as a porcelain painter at the Royal Worcester porcelain works where he came to specialise in painting flowers. His famous ‘open-air’ rural landscapes were mostly inspired by the picturesque UK countryside. Paintings in the Midlands, Lake District, Scotland and Wales noticeably indicates great passion and love for the country he grew up in.
His artwork is on display in Liverpool Museum, Worcester Museum and other art galleries.
Last week’s trade show in Hong Kong was the first major exhibition of the year that The Clayton Leather Group attended, providing the opportunity to showcase all the new activities for the group in 2017.
28th March – Morning before APLF and the anticipation of the first day couldn’t be more noticeable as we were setting up the new stand. Heads already started to turn as a beautiful leather jacket, made of our Clayton’s horse front and Cordovan shell leather was added to the stand. The team were yet to know at this point, just how popular the stand would prove to be.
Products manufactured from J & E Sedgwick’s newly coloured lacing hides were placed on display in the elegant glass cabinets attracting visitors to the back of the stand. Seamlessly, hung alongside the product cabinets, the actual lacing hides allowed visitors to familiarise themselves with the touch and feel of genuine Sedgwick leather.
The uniqueness of the stand design allowed visitors to understand the company values any which way they looked. The group’s ethos “Field to Finish” was vital to broadcast during the exhibition, our brand-new iPad stand also reiterated these values as a tutorial of our website ran on a loop.
Our digital footprint is continually growing within the leather industry and the iPad stand was the perfect feature to captivate visitors.
With all the preparation of the stand completed on the 5 hour mark a countdown to opening the doors began. The exhibitions final preparations came to a conclusion around 6 pm and with expected attendance numbers of 16,000 visitors, from around 90 different countries, a true excitement was building up.