When the PLOTTER brand first launched in 2017, the original “Horse Hair” leather was one of the three series presented in PLOTTER’s leather lineup. As the name implies, the leather was made with tannin leather in black, gray, and navy, with embossing on the surface reminiscent of the flowing horse mane that flutters in the wind. The series had a subtle and understated style, completed with dark color options and a matte black backplate. Since its discontinuation, PLOTTER has received many requests to revive it in a different form.
Flash forward to November 2023, the second generation of the well-loved series, “Horse Hair II” made its debut in Tokyo, Japan. Horse Hair II is one of PLOTTER’s original leather series, made with thick steer hide from North America and finished in Himeji, the birthplace of leather production in Japan.
Just like the first generation, the leather is vegetable-tanned with the same formulation at our tannery in Himeji. However, this time, instead of stamping the surface of the leather, we took on a more unique approach. Craftsmen carefully scratched and raised the delicate horsehair-inspired pattern on each piece of leather by hand. Each piece of leather is uniquely formed and hand-made, an incredibly hard technique to maintain consistency. Unlike uniform embossing, each horsehair mark shows a different expression, and the texture is reminiscent of the scratch process of the popular “Pueblo” series. If you look closely at the leather, it has a velvety expression. The raised portion shines while the valleys have a matte look.
Horse Hair II 6-Ring Leather Binders
Horse Hair II is one of PLOTTER’s original leather series, made with thick steer hide from North America and finished in a tannery in Himeji. This leather series has a robust and fine texture. The horsehair expression aims to highlight the individual characteristic of leather, instead of disguising its uniqueness.
The dyeing technique employed in making this leather yielded four sophisticated colors: black, navy, gray, and green. With the raised horsehair texture, each piece of leather shows a unique expression. Each leather binder in Horse Hair II leather will have the appeal of a one-of-a-kind item.
Paying homage to Japanese leather craftsmanship, we were surprised at the level of oil-smoothed texture this leather could turn out to be. A generous amount of oil is added to the tanning process to achieve an aging effect that will tickle the hearts of leather lovers. The more the leather is used, the more the raised part of the leather will smooth out alongside itself through the absorption of hand oil. You can enjoy the aging of the leather with its elegant luster and natural unique coloring.
Echoing the understated design from the original Horse Hair series, the second generation continues to use an elegant matte-black backplate. It presents a stunning contrast with the coarse texture of the leather.
Finally, Horse Hair II will be available in all four iconic sizes of PLOTTER: A5 Size, Bible Size, Narrow Size, and Mini Size.
We hope you will enjoy the world of ” Horse Hair II,” the newest member of the Leather Binder family. May it inspire you to create and nurture new ideas in the future.
Draw Today, Shape Tomorrow
