About
Drakensberg
The true value of travelling
Material philosophy
and manufacturing process
During production, we pay attention to high-quality and sustainable materials such as vegetable-tanned leather and genuine canvas cotton fabrics, which are dyed AZO-colour-free. Our bags are handmade, which makes each piece truly unique. The entire supply chain is socially responsible and is regularly checked by us on site.
Design
We get inspiration for our product design from our travels, history books and historical travelogues. To revive the iconographic design of the 19th and 20th centuries, we combine original craftsmanship with the current zeitgeist. Each product goes through a multi-stage design process to ensure the highest possible functionality and quality.
Leather tanning and patina
For the particularly gentle tanning of our high-quality leather skins, we use vegetable tanning agents. The leather skins are patinated by hand before they are cut to size, which gives our products their special look and personal character afterwards. For this purpose we use a high-quality leather colour based on carnauba wax.
Leather cutting
Before further processing, the leather skins are cut by hand. When dividing the leather skins, we make sure that there is as little waste as possible and use it almost completely. Even the few remaining leather pieces are still used - for small applications or our accessory collections.
Fabric processing
All fabrics used for our products have been woven especially for us. In contrast to many of our competitors, we use pure cotton fabrics and thus follow our historical models. The process of dyeing is followed by an elaborate "aging process". The fabrics are washed with sand and then machine-dried again to achieve the desired vintage look. Afterwards they are cut to size.
Preparation for sewing
After cutting, the leather and fabric sections are shaped, rolled and glued by hand. This provides stability and support. In addition, individual pockets are reinforced with linings in this step.
Sewing
Now the prepared leather and fabric pieces are joined together to form a whole. The bag gets its final shape. This is the only step in the entire production chain that is carried out with the help of machines. The thick leather that gives our bags their stability requires an enormous amount of force during processing, which only special high-performance sewing machines have.
Assembling
The required metal parts are manufactured according to our design specifications. They are made of brass and after production they receive a special antique finish, which is applied to the metal by a galvanic process. The production of the metal parts is done by machine, but the final attachment to the bag needs to be done by hand.
Quality control
After production, each bag is quality inspected. Special attention is paid to the control of the seams. In our manufacturing process, only unique items are created - no two products are alike. The characteristics that make each piece unique include colour variations and shading. This is our statement against uniformity, towards products with soul, which are as unique as their owner.
