At paper republic, leather is not just a cover. It is the beginning of a long relationship between the material, the hands that shape it, and the person who will carry it.
All our covers and accessories are made from full grain, vegetable-tanned vachetta leather: a natural, durable material chosen for its depth, its scent, its strength, and the way it gets more beautiful over time.
We choose it because it has substance. It holds its shape, takes the weight of daily use, and when life leaves a mark on it, the surface deepens, the edges soften, and the journal begins to look less like something you bought, and more like something you have lived with.
what vegetable-tanned really means
Vegetable tanning is one of the oldest ways of turning raw hides into a durable, long-lasting material. Long before leather became an industry, people learned that plants, bark and wood could help preserve hides and make them useful for daily life.
The method has evolved, and today it benefits from cleaner controls, better knowledge and more precise standards. But the heart of it remains close to its origins: natural tannins, water, time, and the experience of the tanner.
Tannins are natural substances found in many plants, especially in bark, leaves, wood and roots. In leather making, they help preserve the hide, strengthen its fibres, and give the material its characteristic feel and aroma. The process is slower than industrial chrome tanning, which can be done in a matter of hours. Vegetable tanning takes weeks, sometimes close to two months. It cannot be automated in the same way, which is part of why it accounts for only around 10% of global leather production.
Vegetable-tanned leather is not made to look identical from one piece to the next. It keeps traces of the hide, of the hand, of the process. That is where its beauty lies.
choosing the right hide
Not every part of a hide behaves in the same way. For our journals and accessories, we use the shoulder: one of the strongest and most stable parts of the hide. It has the right balance of structure and flexibility, which makes it ideal for objects that are opened, closed, carried, bent, touched and used every day.
We use full grain leather, which means the natural surface of the hide is preserved rather than sanded away or covered. The grain remains visible, and the material keeps its full strength.
from the hills of Tuscany
All of our leather comes from one small, family-run tannery in the Tuscan countryside, in Italy. They are our only leather supplier, and our relationship with them has grown over the years into something much more personal than a simple production arrangement. We visit often, we know the people behind the material, and we trust the way they work.
If you have ever been to Florence, you may have noticed how deeply leather belongs to the city. Its craft memory is still carried by workshops, families and hands that have worked the material for generations. Our tannery belongs to this Tuscan tradition, away from the busiest streets, where the work remains slow, physical and guided by experience.
what happens at the tannery
At the tannery, the hides are first carefully washed and cleaned. They are then placed in large drums, where they soak slowly in natural tannins: extracts drawn from plants such as chestnut, mimosa and quebracho. No chrome, no metal-based agents. After soaking, the hides are hung to dry, then greased to restore their softness and flexibility.
For certain colours, such as fern green and wild heather, the surface is then stone-polished by hand using a special stone tool: an ancient technique still practised by the tannery's artisans. It gives the leather a softer touch and a more settled depth from the very first day you hold it.
Once tanned, the leather is dyed using soluble aniline dyes. These allow the surface to remain fully visible rather than being covered by a synthetic coating. The colour becomes part of the material itself: it does not sit on top like paint, but goes all the way through.
from Italy to our Vienna workshop
Once the hides arrive in Vienna, they enter our workshop as simple sheets of leather. Here, our craftspeople work each piece by hand: inspecting the surface, selecting the right section for each product, measuring, cutting, stitching, knotting the ribbons, and finishing every detail with care.
Working in-house gives us greater control over quality, production quantities and every detail of the finished piece. It also means shorter transport routes, more flexibility, and the ability to recognise and correct production issues early.
In our workshop, we also work to minimise leather waste wherever possible. Each hide is cut carefully to use as much of the material as we can. Larger leftover pieces can become prototypes for future products, while smaller scraps are used for small leather goods, gifts or our leather recrafting box.
something that becomes yours
Vegetable-tanned leather does not stay still. With time, it darkens where the sun touches it, softens where your hands hold it, and gathers the marks of the places it has been. The corners round slightly. The surface becomes richer. The journal starts to carry a history that belongs only to you.
This is patina: the tangible record of use. A paper republic journal is not made to remain perfect in a drawer. It is made to travel in bags, lie open on desks, hold thoughts, collect tickets, cross cities, and come back with you. The more it is used, the more clearly it becomes yours.
why we believe in this material
Sustainability is not a word we use lightly, especially when speaking about leather.
Our leather is certified by the Genuine Italian Vegetable-Tanned Leather Consortium, which protects this specific way of working and the standards behind it. The certification guarantees that no animal is raised or killed for its hide alone, that wastewater is treated on site, and that the natural materials used in the process are recovered and reused where possible: as fertilisers, as construction materials, and in other applications.
We also know that sustainability has to include time. A material should not only be judged by how it is made, but by how long it remains useful and loved. Vegetable-tanned vachetta leather is strong enough for a long life, and it grows more beautiful with use rather than deteriorating.
Our refillable system is part of that same thinking. A paper republic journal is designed so the inside can change while the leather cover stays with you for years. You can replace finished pages, add new refills, rearrange your setup and keep using the same cover as your needs evolve.
This is why we choose this leather, and keep choosing it: because it is natural, made to last, and crafted to become more personal with time.
