It's been almost 15 years since Patricia introduced her own Patricia Nash Designs brand, marking the birth of iconic bags and accessories that have established a large, loyal, and passionate following. A beautiful, vintage tooled handbag found in her mother's closet inspired Patricia to create her first Patricia Nash handbag. Today, Patricia's creations continue to reimagine the future.
History and heritage are woven into everything we do, from the printed and tooled leathers Patricia designs to the hand-finishing, care, and detailing that our craftspeople put into each piece. Producing the finest quality leather begins with acquiring the best raw materials. We accept only the finest hides from trusted sources around the world. This ensures that no matter how we finish it, we are providing you with the very best leather available. We have a large range of customized leathers and finishes created uniquely for our brand. Our leather products are 100% full grain leather with no synthetics or split leather components. As they are natural products, full grain leathers show characteristics of stretch marks, scarring, or other markings, and there may be variation from hide to hide. These imperfections are not defects but are instead proof of the hide's natural origin. We typically reject two out of every three skins, ensuring we have only the best-looking hides.
All of our leather products are constructed with handcrafted details. This includes burnishing, tooling, burning edges, sewing, braiding, and manufacturing, so that each piece is unique with no two being the same.
Vintage Vegetable Tanned Leather
This full grain article is the most sought-after leather due to its high quality, luxurious hand feel and appearance. It is vegetable tanned leather made with an aniline water soluble dye, which does not mask the natural grain, markings or scars of the hide. This means the quality of the hides chosen for this process must be the most superior quality of all. We also use this leather for many of our special tooled collections, continuing the tradition of hand-tooled European leather but with Patricia's modern, exclusive designs.
Vegetable Tanned Leather
This leather is from full grain cowhides that are drummed in natural, organic tannins, such as the bark of the Italian mimosa tree, which is used to process our leather in a sustainable water recycling tannery. This method follows a tradition that is centuries old in Italy and around the world. One of the best features of our Vegetable Tanned Leather is that it develops a rich patina of high and low color over time, and it is the best leather finish for designs in which we apply embossing and debossing. The characteristic finished effect shows the natural grain of the leather, and the resulting variances in appearance are part of its natural beauty. The leather has a nice woody fragrance and a distinct appearance with unmatched durability.
Printed Leathers
Patricia's interpretations of maps and the artistry and elegance of her print designs are threads that connect our creations from our company's beginnings to today. We use full grain, vegetable tanned cowhides for our custom printed leathers. After the tanning process, each skin is roller pressed to allow the natural grain of the hide to show through, and this provides a more stable palette to apply the print that Patricia has developed exclusively for the brand. Our process of creating printed leathers includes specific dyes to print deeply into the fibers of the hide.
Printed leather requires skilled craftsmanship, and we accept a high number of losses due to the natural article of the cowhide and the different ways it absorbs ink. In addition to iconic prints that are well-known and readily associated with the brand, such as European Map Print (above), Patricia regularly creates and releases new designs. She draws inspirations from her travels, memories, vintage bags and clothing, and cultural influences.
The Italian Sketchbook print (shown at right) celebrates the High Renaissance period of art. One of Patricia’s newest prints, it features drawings that are polished, eloquent, and display soulful faces of beauty. A sketch resembling the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore complemented by artisan text brings elegant style to this design.
Vintage Distressed Leather
Our Vintage Distressed Leather is also vegetable tanned full grain leather that has been treated with a natural oil additive, giving it an amazing grainy vintage texture. Over time it will continue to develop a patina of natural highs and lows in the color of the leather, and the hand feel will continue to soften. A very durable leather, it has both an elevated appearance as well as a casual look.
Burnished Tooled Leather
This is also an undyed vegetable tanned leather that is smoothly polished to create a top grain leather, which makes it ready for spraying permanent color. It is then burnished by hand. With true heirloom qualities, this leather will last for decades and become even more beautiful over time. Depending upon the design, tooling and cutouts may also be applied.
Waxed Leather
This selection of rich vegetable tanned leathers is treated with a silky waxed finish Patricia created for this collection. The leather is hand-stained for color dimension that ages to a buttery soft, rich patina. With year-round appeal, these pieces are designed to love and carry for years to come.
Another of our popular leathers, Vintage Croc Embossed Leather is a polished, undyed vegetable tanned leather. The permanent color is sprayed on, and then the leather is embossed. It is burnished by hand, which provides a refined, durable finish. It is an easier tanning process because no color dyes are added, but more manual labor is required to hand finish each skin, and the embossing gives it a wonderful dimensional look and feel that is classy and elegant.
Our 100% full-grain vegetable tanned leather comes from a LWG GOLD Certified tannery. This certified leather is traceable, does not come from deforested areas, and all raw material is a by-product of the beef industry. Certification maintains environmental management standards, energy/water consumption, waste management, and safety. Patricia Nash Designs is a proud member of Leather Naturally, a global voice to promote responsibly made leather.
Behind the Scenes with Patricia
