Sonnenleder Leather writing case with filling

In addition to their very practical aspects, what characterizes the products from Sonnenleder is that with age they become more interesting and individual. The company with headquarters on Lake Constance uses traditional methods to process vegetable tanned leather from south German cattle. The design is no-nonsense and to the point. The undoctored photo documents the aesthetic and material aplomb of a Sonnenleder writing case which after seven, to say the least, "robust" years of service in school, is none the less for wear. When undyed, Sonnenleder leather has a characteristic light brown reddish color (which is why it is called "red tanned"). Every batch looks differently. In time, use and exposure to the sun changes its color, with a protective patina giving the leather an unmistakable appearance. Even the black leather, after a time-consuming vegetable tanning process in a barrel, develops a glistening patina that bears witness to its purity and provenance.

... one might fill a writing case like this with: six Monolith graphite pencils (all grades), a Toison d’Or mechanical pencil, twelve Ø 2 mm graphite refills, a Granate pencil sharpener with three blade refills, a small10 cm scale Rumold ruler made of white beech and pear wood, an eraser, a pencil stretcher and a pencil cap. The vegetable tanned Allgäu cowhide leather case is carefully sewn.

Sonnenleder in Bodman-Ludwigshafen on Lake Constance in the Hegau region stands for consistently purposeful, pure design. The meticulously working company maintains the most traditional method of leather production: pit tanning. Solely hides from southern German cattle find their way into the pits of the company. The tanning agents used by Sonnenleder contain, for the most part, decoctions from bark, roots and fruits. The hides undergo the tanning process in twelve pits with tanning broths slightly rising in concentration; the tanning agents transform the protein fibres of the hides into leather fibres in six to twelve weeks. In the next step, the tanned, then air-dried hides get a fatliquoring finish in a rotating barrel; the composition of the high-quality grease is a well-kept secret recipe. The finished leather thus has a characteristic, slightly light brown-reddish hue (hence the term “red-tanned”), which looks different in each piece. Day-to-day use and exposure to the elements change the shade and result in a patina, a form of natural protection on the surface. Eventually, the leather gains an unmistakable appearance over time. Even the thoroughly imbued leather acquires a shiny patina with use.