What do the Model T Ford, 1956 Eames lounge chair and Concorde have in common? Aside from being historically monolithic design classics they were all upholstered using leather from Scottish leather company Bridge of Weir. With a heritage going back as far as 1758, their client list includes The Orient Express, The Lusitania, British Airways, the British Houses of Parliament, Gucci, the Burj Al Arab 7 star hotel in Dubai, Vertu phones and Jaguar to name but a few.
They have provided leather for some of the great automotive classics and can even claim to have helped save the world, their leather upholstering the interiors of James Bond’s Aston Martin in Die Another Day, the De Lorien from Back To The Future and Lady Penelope’s ghastly 6 wheeled pink limo in the Thunderbirds movie. That’s quite a client list for a company based in the small Scottish town of Bridge of Weir from where it got its name. With a population of about 5,000, and Bridge of Weir leather able to output 3000 hides a day, they can produce roughly 235 times more hides a year than there are human hides in the town. And with the company being so important to the locals, many of the factory workers are following on in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents, knowledge and skills being passed down through generations.
Whilst they are extremely proud of their heritage, Bridge of Weir is also at the forefront of leather technology having developed the first nitrocellulose finish, fogging-free and chrome tanning processes for automotive leather. Other firsts include flame proofed leather for aircraft seats and pure aniline upholstery leather for furniture. This is a company who’ve been doing what they do for a long time, and as a result, know what they’re doing.