No compromises.

Pixel Five Leather Co. uses only full-grain leather from the best tanneries in the world.

Color names are specific to us, and may not match tannery color names.

Leather swatch

From Chicago, IL

Dublin

Dublin is a vegetable tanned side leather from Horween that utilizes the same traditional tanning extracts as Horween's Genuine Shell Cordovan. This leather is found in most of our products and is the foundation of The Journalist hybrid camera strap. It is soft, flexible, and the non-black colors have a beautiful pull-up with a good amount of variation.

Caring for Leather Products

Keep it Clean
Wipe away any dirt or debris that may come into contact with your leather products using a clean, dry cloth. Do not use excessive force or abrasive materials. A soft cotton or microfiber cloth works well. If necessary, a very lightly damped rag can help with stubborn dirt.

Storage
Keep it in a clean environment, away from extreme temperatures (hot or cold), without excessive moisture/humidity. For longer or larger products, we recommend hanging them up so that they can fully air out. Many of our products ship with a cloth bag, which works great if you need to pack the item away.

What if it gets wet?
Some of our products, such as our camera straps, are made from a leather that is more water resistant than most. We don't recommend scuba diving with it, but it should stand up to sweat and a light rain just fine. Regardless, we highly recommend drying any wet leather by blotting the moisture away with a dry cloth and allowing the item to air out... hanging it up works best! Do NOT use heat to speed up the drying process, this could cause the item to shrink, crack, or become discolored. Hair dryers, heat guns, and other heat sources do not play nice with premium leather.

Does leather dry out?
Most of the leather we use is treated with moisturizing/softening elements such as wax and resists drying out. That said, if your leather does begin to dry out, we recommend using a natural leather conditioner that comes in paste or liquid form. Look for products that use mink oil, beeswax, and/or glycerine.

Facts About Leather

Types of Leather

  • Full-grain | High durability and quality, comes from the outmost layer of the hide and has not been sanded or modified to remove natural variations and imperfections. Used in high-end and luxury applications, as well as saddlery and other industries. This is the only kind of leather we use!

Other Leather Types:

  • Top-grain | The top surface sanded or modified to hide natural variation and imperfections. It is generally split from the suede / "flesh" side and is less robust than full-grain leather in many cases.
  • "Genuine" | An ambiguous term used to describe any cut of leather that does not fit either of the above definitions. Often combined with other materials for structural stability or for aesthetic reasons.
  • Bonded | As MDF is to hard wood, so bonded leather is to full-grain leather. Bonded leather is made from scraps and particles of leather mixed with adhesives and other bonding materials/chemicals and pressed or rolled into a new material that contains only a small percentage of actual leather.

What is "tannage"?

How a hide is tanned has a massive effect on how it looks, feels, smells, and behaves when exposed to various environments and physical forces. Even two hides that have been tanned using similar methods can be significantly different from each other if certain variables are changed such as time, chemicals, dyes, and processing.

In a nutshell:

  • Vegetable tanned ("veg tan") | An ancient, organic, and more environmentally friendly method using vegetable tannins to preserve the hide. The process can take up to several months, but results in a high quality and durable leather and is considered by many to be a superior product. Veg tan is generally more expensive than other types of leather and tends to preserve a more natural look.
  • Chrome tanned | Most leather in the world today is chrome tanned and is used to make a wide variety of products, especially where bright/vibrant colors are desired. The leather is dipped in a chromium sulfate solution to preserve the hide, a process which removes moisture and generally results in a thinner and more flexible/stretchy material. Note: Chrome tanned leather has been known to tarnish or rust some metals due to the chromium salts used in the tanning process.
  • Other | There are other methods, such as oil tanning and combination tanning, which may use the above tanning processes as a base and modify them using other chemicals, waxes, and oils... but for the most part, you'll see leather referred to as one of the first two types of tannage.