Nuve began in 2014, in a workshop above a bakery in the Oltrarno. Two friends, three sewing machines, and a stubborn idea: that a bag should outlive its first owner.
We didn’t want to make many things. We wanted to make few things, well, and to know each one. So we kept the workshop small. We learned from old leatherworkers in Tuscany. We chose vegetable tanning before it was fashionable, because it ages the way we wanted to age.
Twelve years on, we are eight people. We still know each piece. We still bake bread.
Fourteen days, in eleven steps.
Selection
We buy two hides at a time, from a tannery we have used for ten years. Each hide is inspected for grain, range, and weight.
Resting
After cutting, the leather rests for three days. It learns its shape.
Stitching
Saddle-stitched by hand with waxed Italian linen. The seam outlasts the leather.
Burnishing
Edges are sealed and burnished four times. Beeswax is the last layer.
Signing
Pressed in the corner, by the artisan who made it. Initials, never names — but you can ask.