TRADITIONAL SAVOIR-FAIRE
We rely on traditional savoir-faire and the legacy of French workshops praised for decades by the most prestigious luxury houses.
We offered them to partner with us to develop a new approach to French luxury leather goods.
Together we have adapted their long-standing and exceptional know-how to our innovative materials.
The infinitesimal precision of their gestures and their attention to details 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 pieces 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.
SEWING
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.
EDGE PAINTING
Once the edges have been prepared and are perfectly smooth, our artisans will apply several layers of edge paint.
Hand-painting the edges is particularly hard and requires a lot of time and precision to deliver the perfect result.
When applying edge paint, the look of the edges can remain flat or become rounded and show a matt, satin or even glossy finish. This step plays an important role in shaping the personality of each of our creations.
HOT STAMPING
On each of our creation we apply our "MAES Paris" logo.
Using a heated tool made of brass, the artisan is hot stamping the product with a golden foil. The temperature and pressure used are critical to obtain a high-quality hot stamping of our logo.
This technique is also used to mark the identification number which indicated the model as well as the place and time it was created.
QUALITY AT THE SERVICE OF IMPACT
Working with French workshops is as much a choice of passion as a key element of our search for the lowest-possible impact.
France is incredibly rich with amazing high-quality craftsmanship. But it also gives us access to greener energy, thanks to a better "energy mix" than most of its European neighbours, even those who also have quite a reputation when it comes to leather goods.
Thanks to our innovative vegan materials, our carefully-selected components, our supply-chain very concentrated on France and nearby countries, and the greener energy powering our workshops, our bags show a much better impact the traditional leather goods.
Know-how is as important as the quality of the materials to make durable leather goods. Choosing to work only with exceptional craftsmen also means offering creations which can accompany their owners for a very (very) long time.
This is how we summarize our definition of modern fine leather goods: very-high-quality products, with a very low impact on the environment right out of the workshop and which will stay for long.