Making it for you
Daniel Bailey is proud to be a part of the Northamptonshire leather industry, the home of English leather. Here, we have forged partnerships with local suppliers who know their craft inside out. Our location means we have built strong relationships with suppliers of leather and the specialised tools we use to create your unique pieces.
Everything is handmade to order.
Thinking about it
With our signature ‘penny corners’ England is embedded into the design of our pieces.
Despite taking an artist’s approach, we prototype and test all designs to ensure they meet your exacting needs for years to come.
It may be not the best business plan, but we want our ‘custodians’ to cherish what we make for the rest of their lives; before handing them on to the next generation.
More than love
While everything we make takes love and passion, it also requires leather, the finest we can find.
Full-grain leather is a beautiful material that should be used responsibly. Using traditional, sustainable techniques, the leathers display the natural characteristics of each hide.
Typically, our leathers are one of two types.
Italian vachetta leather – naturally vegetable tanned, hand finished with waxes to create a smooth, hard wearing finish. Most come unfinished and over time, darken and burnish to create a beautiful patina.
Shell cordovan – one of the most expensive leathers, vegetable tanned using tree bark and plant-based extracts. We have been developing some interesting shell cordovan with one of the oldest tanneries in England. With an exceptionally smooth surface this leather will gain an exquisite patina with age, the more it’s used the better it gets.
The cutting
Making a piece is a feast for the senses.
The leather is cut from our patterns, a process known as ‘clicking’, a name given from the sound of the knife moving around the metal-bound patterns.
Keeping it all together
The threads
The thread makes a significant impact on the look and legendary longevity of a Daniel Bailey piece. To give you the finest in leather, we use two main thread types.
Waxed braided nylon thread – known as ‘Tiger’ thread, it is very durable, ideal for use in items, which are regularly exposed to moisture.
Linen cable thread – ‘lin cable’ is waxed and pre-stretched creating a very round thread enhancing the look of the hand saddle stitching.
The hand-stitching
The stitches are marked using a traditional pricking iron, the holes are enlarged by a saddler’s awl and the needles are passed through, known as saddle stitch. Time-consuming, it takes great skill to get right but it’s worth it, not only for the very attractive result it creates but for the long life it confers.
The metal
The same care we take in choosing the best leather is lavished on the metal fittings.
Our favourite, and the best, comes from a UK-based foundry which has been forging products since 1832.
The fittings used in Daniel Bailey finest leather goods have the added reassurance of a royal warrant for the supply of saddlery materials.
The embossing
Attention to detail extends to the brass, embossing stamps we use. They are made by world-class craftsmen. This is where our location in the home of leather helps, as the embossing tool makers are also in Northamptonshire (lovely people too).
The finish
The edges and surface of Daniel Bailey pieces are beautifully burnished and polished using a range of natural waxes. Even our key waxes are produced for us here in Northamptonshire.