Take a look inside Shop No. 5, Now Open in Sydney's Strand Arcade.

Photography: Bruce Hunt

NOW SHOWING AT HUNT BALMAIN

Andrea Francolini is a renowned and award-winning photographer with over 20 years experience behind the lens. Based in Sydney Australia, Andrea was born in Milan Italy and was educated in the USA and Switzerland. His freelance career has seen him working on every continent around the world as well as achieving high-acclaim as a marine industry photographer.

Exhibition ends November 30, 2021

 

In archaic Italian, "vacchetta" referred to a leather book that contained a family's detailed daily expenses. In sacristies it was where masses were registered. The art of vegetable tanning has prehistoric roots that are well documented throughout Tuscany. In ancient times, thanks to its extraordinary resistance, cowhide leather was mainly used to make hunting saddlebags and shoes for shepherds and soldiers.

Strict rules regulating the tanning process were already in place during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. These rules were established by the Guilds of Florence through the Statute of the “Lesser” Guild (Arti Minori) of Curriers and Tanners. These master artisans were heirs to the centuries-old technique of mixing tannins extracted from plants and manually crafting the leathers.