Maison Meridian is an Indianapolis-headquartered workshop that produces handmade leather goods and timepieces using traditional techniques.
Each product is hand crafted from the highest quality materials available. Leather goods are designed, dyed, and finished at our downtown studio. Slight imperfections are present between items of the same style due to their handmade nature.
Continue reading below to learn more about the know-how that Maison Meridian brings to each of its finished items.
Leather Work Process
Leather work is an intensive series of processes that convert raw, unfinished leather from the tannery into a beautiful piece of art.
Step 1: Deglazing
Leather is prepared for dyeing by rubbing solvent onto the surface of the leather with a cotton pad. The solvent removes the light wax coating and vegetable-based tanning solution from the surface.
Step 2: Soaking
Deglazed leather is given a quick soak in room temperature water to soften the workable surface in preparation of embossing.
Step 3: Embossing
The now rehydrated leather is softened and ready for embossing. The artisan uses metal dyes to emboss the leather with the desired text or images. The embossed leather is allowed to completely dry before moving to the next step.
Step 4: Edge Finishing
Using specialized hand tools, the leather edges are enhanced with beveling and burnishing. Beveling introduces an angle to the otherwise perpendicularly oriented edges. Burnishing rounds the angles and smoothens the edges for a highly-finished look.
Step 5: Surface Finishing
The final step before assembly is dyeing the leather with vibrant pigments using a sponge applicator and microfiber cloth to buff. Once the dye has completely dried, two applications of varnish are applied and buffed to seal in the dye and protect the final product. Maison Meridian offers matte, shiny, and patent finishes to its products.
Step 6: Finished Leather
After the varnish has completely dried, the leather is considered finished and ready for assembly or enjoyment!