top of page
Parchment hides

Parchment

Parchment is traditionally a writing material made from specially prepared un-tanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. Due to its durability and versatility, parchment has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. From 15th century onwards, it was used mostly on book bindings and for paintings. Baroque and Jugendstil painters preferred it to achieve natural skin tones. 

Today, parchment is used in more contemporary ways including wall paneling and furniture cladding.

We use this ancient material in novel ways, making bags, purses and wallets that have unique look thanks to parchment's natural features..

Parchment is prepared from un-haired and limed hides by drying at ordinary temperatures under tension. Both parchment and leather are made from animal skins, but they differ from each other in the way they are produced and treated. Leather tanning process involves adding vegetable tannins to the skin to chemically alter its properties, while parchment only goes through physical alterations such as scrapping, oiling, and stretching. 

The word parchment evolved from the name of the ancient city of Pergamon, which was a thriving center of parchment production during the Hellenistic times, currently located near the Turkish city of Bergama.

bottom of page