PRODUCTION

All my leather goods are unique and handmade in my modernist rooftop-atelier in Laken – Belgium.

Making a new order takes 3 to 6 weeks, depending on the order-book.
All DIDDA goods are made of locally sourced skins. The leather is – depending on the design – either veg-tan, up-cycled or production residue from meat-production.
DIDDA proposes a main ‘solid’ collection and a more volatile one; a series of unique one-shots made in the mood of the day. Your order can be personalized (length, left/right wear etc.) or completely tailor-made.

MATERIALS

*Vegtan leather:

Vegtan or vegetable tanned leather is tanned with natural materials like tree bark. Less than 10% of the world’s leather is tanned this way today. Vegtan is a thicker and stronger leather, so the designs don’t need lining, which makes the bags lighter. Vegtan has that gorgeous leather smell, tends to age better and develops a rich

patina over time. This eco-friendly product is the ideal material to most of the ‘neat’ DIDDA designs. Color-options are smaller (mostly black/nude and cognac). The leather is sourced at a Belgian tannery.

*Standard full-grain leather:

This leather is generally rather smooth and comes in a wide variety of colors, textures and finishing. All the skins used by DIDDA come from European

tanneries (meeting the highest standards) and are a leftover product from meat-industry. Always keep in mind that leather is a natural product that once had a life, so every skin will have h

is story and tiny imperfections, which adds up to the charm and patina.

*Lining:

I prefer to work with 100 % leather lining, mostly pigskin. It makes the bag slightly more heavy but it’s much stronger & more consistent in design.

*Zippers:

5mm or 7mm metal zippers of superior quality by Belgian Zip Factory KROKO (zip manufacturer since 1944).

*Rope / sling

I mainly use 10 or 11mm round non-stretch/static polyamide cord of superior quality (used by sailors & mountaineers). This material – supplied by the ‘maisons’ corderie Smits-Henin and Corderie Barrois, can bear extreme (weather) conditions and will probably last forever.

When the design includes flat slings; those are made of 100% leather, sometimes doubled with flat polypropylene belts of superior quality provided by corderie Smits-Henin. These add up to the strength and anti-stretch of the slings.