One of the most seemingly superfluous yet totally imperative steps in a Lotuff’s bag creation is splitting. Out in the studio, our versatile Working Tote is in the middle of this second stage in the assembly process, which has to happen before any stitching takes place on the bag if it’s to look its best in the end. 

Essentially, splitting an uncorrected leather hide means slicing it lengthwise to completely even out its thickness. Oftentimes, this can come down to a difference of a tenth of an inch, potentially begging the question- why spend time on this step at all? The proof is in the finished product. 

The split hide is paired with another of now-equivalent thickness, and then laminated to generate a thin yet sturdy and balanced piece. This means that the parts of a bag often subject to wear-and-tear become durable and structured instead. Without splitting and then laminating, for example, the Working Tote wouldn’t have the sleek handles or double-layered base that it eventually does after having moved through every stage of production, the next of which is stitching.