Tanning
As we began designing more and more goods, it became clear that we needed to find exactly the right materials to bring these wallets to life in the way the were intended. After testing dozens of different types of leather from as many tanneries, we narrowed it down to all-natural, vegetable-tanned hides from a handful of suppliers.
American Made, At Every Stage
Of the vegetable-tanned leathers we tested, one tannery rose to the top as our consistent favorite. Now, for all of our standard collections, we use high-quality, full-grain leather from the Wickett & Craig tannery in Curwensville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1867, it's one of the only specialty vegetable tanneries in the US, made famous by the beautiful and resilient hides they produce. Their entire process takes around 6 weeks per hide.
Finishes
The Wickett & Craig Tannery offers a variety of styles and finishes with their leathers. After trying all of them, we settled on both their bridle and glazed harness offerings. These were selected due to the color reproduction available through their dyeing process, along with the way each ages to a unique and beautiful patina. It was clear that the Morning Cup designs and Wickett & Craig Leathers were meant for one another.
Sustainability as a Priority
All Wickett & Craig hides come from North American cattle of European stock. 100% of the skins used are a waste product of the beef industry, meaning that if these hides weren't tanned and finished, they would end up in landfills (in fact, without the American leather industry, it is estimated that this would total over 2 billion pounds of biological waste). The cattle from which the hides were harvested were not raised for leather and as such, the only impact this tannery has is in reducing waste from the industry. They process all their waste water in an on-site facility they manage and compost all the waste from the hides into fertilizer which is distributed to local farmers.