Exotic Leather Blog

There was a time when exotic skins were geared exclusively towards the very elite set that could actually afford a crocodile handbag. Unless you were of the class living on Madison Avenue or Avenue Montaigne, there was little chance that you’d ever get to own an exotic anything. Heritage luxury brands like Hermes, Prada, Gucci, and Salvatore Ferragamo dictated the market and, therefore, dictated the customer.

In a few recent posts, we’ve talked about beaver tail — from what they are and how they’re processed to a few reasons why you should use them in your next exotic leather project. However, there is one more question that needs to be answered: what kind of exotic leather projects are the best for beaver tail skins based on their size, shape, durability and appearance?

When most people think of exotic leathers, they usually picture snake, crocodile, zebra, and even ostrich hides. However, there are many more exotic skins that can be used for high-fashion projects. One type of exotic leather that many people might not be aware of is beaver tail — which is a shame, considering the qualities of this exotic material make it ideal for a number of different applications, such as phone cases, wallets, and footwear.

A lot of the fashion designers are curious about the tanning process for various exotic leathers. In fact, questions like “how do you tan ______?” are among the top few FAQs that Pan American Leathers gets.

So, in this blog article, we thought we’d share a little bit about the tanning process for one of our newest products: beaver tails!

Pan American Leathers remains dedicated to providing a wide variety of exotic skins to suit the needs of high-fashion designers of every stripe. This is why the Pan Am team is proud to announce that we’re adding a new kind of exotic leather to our lineup: beaver tail skins!

When you have a specific vision of what you need for an exotic leather project, the last thing you want to do is settle for whatever the distributor you order from has in stock. There are times where you want a very specific look and feel for the leather you use in your project, and any deviations from your ideal can compromise your end results.

Here at Pan American Leathers, we do our best to make sure that we have a broad selection of exotic leathers for all of our most discerning clients. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to keep every kind of leather in stock all the time, considering how many options. This is an issue for many distributors.

Exotic leathers can add a unique and striking touch to many different high-fashion projects. However, because of their rarity compared to other leathers, it can be hard to find the perfect piece of exotic skin to suit your particular vision.Distributors often only carry a few of the most popular colors and finishes for specific types of exotic leather. So, you might be forced to make compromises—to order something that’s close to your vision rather than an exact match. But, do you really need to compromise?

In some previous posts, we’ve covered the emergence of metal-free tanning in the exotic leather industry—what it is, how it differs from chrome-based tanning, and its current status in the industry.

In a previous post, I mentioned the issues with metal-free tanning vs. chrome tanning for exotic leathers. The big issue with vegetable tanning was that—although it was more environmentally-friendly than chrome tanning—it produced hides that lacked certain physical and aesthetic qualities required in the world of luxury leather.