TRADITIONAL SAVOIR-FAIRE
We rely on traditional savoir-faire and the legacy of French workshops praised for decades by the most prestigious luxury houses.
These artisans have adapted their long-standing know-how to the innovative materials we were the first to put in their hands.
The infinitesimal precision of our artisans’ gestures and the attention to details they maintain at each step allow our creations to offer an amazing experience and exceptional longevity.
Cutting & Preparation
Cutting is the first step of making a handbag. Each part is precisely cut, either with a laser-guided cutting machine for the first cut or with more traditional die-cut shapes for precision overcutting.
The different parts are then split to bring them to the desired thickness, depending on each part’s final position in the product.
The assembling follows, when our artisans put manually together all the M_MAT pieces with reinforcements and linings, to start forming the handbag or small leather good.
Precision is critical here, first to guarantee the exceptional quality of the handcrafted product but also to ensure that cutting generates as little waste as possible.
Thanks to the biomaterials we use, which are manufactured in rolls and not animal hides, waste can be significantly reduced which contributes to our overall environmental performance.
Sewing
Born from the passion of a man for the craft of leather goods, the Baxo workshop has been established since 1982 in the south-west of France. It brings together a team of passionate prototypists and artisans who work in synergy to manufacture high quality bags.
Sewing is also a critical part in the making of a handbag or small leather good, which will give it flawless elegance and durable strength.
Although a sewing machine is involved, it is very much the hand and eye of the artisan that are essential to guide the pieces and control the pace of sewing. It takes many years of experience and training for artisans to master the gestures and to be able to adapt them constantly to the specificities of each piece.
Our artisans had to conduct numerous trials to obtain as beautiful and as perfectly linear seams with our M_MAT materials as with leather.
EDGE PREPARATION
There are different techniques to assemble the different parts of a handbag or small leather good. The most noble and beautiful for us is the one known as “bord franc” (cut edges), as it allows to give a very sensual finish to our creations with edge paint.
Before applying edge paint, it is crucial to prepare the edges. An operation sometimes known as “verrage” in French. It consists in sanding the edges with thin-grain sandpaper to make them perfectly smooth and even.
Whether done manually with sandpaper or with the help of a sanding machine, this step requires extreme care and great precision to correct any tiny unevenness without changing, or worse, damaging the shape of the whole product.
EDGE PAINTING
Once the cut edges are perfectly smooth, the paint can be applied. The artisan uses a tool to apply the edge paint in multiple thin layers. Amusingly artisans often have their own technique and preferred tool to apply the paint on the cut edges.
With the M_MAT_cactus, it takes much more time and precision to make perfectly-painted edges than with leather. This step also required numerous tries and experiments for our artisans to figure out the best approach.
This step is also an important creative opportunity in our designs. When applying edge paint, the look of the edges can remain flat or become rounded and with a matt, satin or even glossy finish upon the designer’s wish. For our creations, we decided to go with satin finish slightly rounded.
HOT STAMPING
On each of our creation we apply our logo.
From a stamp made of brass and heated above 100°C, the artisan is hot stamping the product with a golden foil. Temperature and pressure applied are the two main parameters to obtain a high-quality hot stamping of our logo.
To use this technique on the M_MAT_cactus, our artisans had to adapt yet again to find the perfect temperature and pressure parameters.
This technique is also used in our products to mark their identification number which indicated the model as well as the place and time it was created.
POSITIVE LUXURY
We have received the Butterfly Mark certification, which guarantees the truthfulness of our commitment and the sustainability of our products.
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LOW IMPACT
The carbon footprint of our handbags and small leather goods is 3-times lower than traditional leather goods.
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LIFETIME WARRANTY
Our handbags are designed to withstand the test of time. However, we provide any necessary repair, without any limit in time.
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