Why Full-Grain Leather?
When we started designing the Cartelle Companion, choosing the right leather was one of our first decisions. It needed to look beautiful, feel good, stand up to everyday use, and get better with age.
Full-grain leather ticked all the boxes. It’s one of the strongest and most durable types of leather, and comes from the outermost layer of the hide, with its natural surface left intact. Unlike leather that's been sanded or heavily treated to create a perfectly uniform finish, full-grain leather retains its original grain and character, with subtle variations in texture and colour.
This is part of the appeal. Every piece of leather is slightly different, which means every Cartelle Companion has its own character.
The beauty of patina
One of the lovely things about good leather is that it doesn't need to stay looking brand new. Over time, leather develops what's known as a patina - a gradual change in colour, texture and sheen as it's handled and used.
A cover might deepen in colour, soften slightly and pick up the occasional mark from its travels. Rather than looking worn out, it starts to look lived in.
Vegetable-tanned leather
We use full-grain vegetable-tanned leather from Tuscany for our Companions.
Despite the name, vegetable tanning doesn't involve tanning leather with vegetables. It's a traditional process that uses natural tannins found in materials such as bark and leaves from Mimosa, Chestnut and Oak trees.
The process gives the leather its distinctive feel and character and allows it to develop a beautiful patina, becoming more supple with use.
Made to be used, not saved for best
The Cartelle Companion is a refillable notebook system. Inside the leather cover, you can carry separate notebooks for different parts of your life — work notes, creative ideas, travel plans and things you don't want to forget.
When you've filled a notebook, you replace the refill rather than the whole Companion. So while the paper comes and goes, the leather stays with you.
And that's really why we choose full-grain leather - it's not just about how it looks when you first open the box. It's about having something you'll enjoy using and carrying for years to come.