Subject
Skin is alive, and it shows
Not all skins pass
There's a selection that occurs even before work begins, a moment when the raw material is touched, folded, and held up to the light. The right leather has a precise response: it yields without collapsing, it's soft yet has structure, and it reacts to light in a way that cannot be explained in words but is immediately recognizable.
It's alive. And it shows.
The difference is subtle
When color enters the skin in the right way, you don't see the color, you see the skin. The difference is subtle yet absolute. Poorly treated skin reflects color from the surface. Living skin absorbs it, makes it its own, and returns it as if it had always been there. It's the same difference that exists between a painted object and an object that has a color. We only work with materials that can be given an identity.