Handmade belts made in Harlingen

Atelier de Groot’s artisan crafted handmade belts are crafted with great attention and love in our own workshop in Harlingen, Friesland. All our leather belts are made by hand, using ancient techniques and artisanal machinery. Exactly as we learned from our parents, who founded Atelier de Groot. Read more about our origin here.

We make a quality product for years of wearing pleasure. We use vegetable tanned leather from European tanneries. These are driven family businesses with quality and sustainability in mind, such as the German Gerberei David Schmid and the British J& FJ Baker & Co. Curious what the process of a craft belt looks like? Let’s start:

Purchasing and quality control

Purchasing and quality control

When the leather arrives in our workshop, we first check and assess it for quality, thickness and shape. Then we look at how we can best cut the belts out of the leather.

Precisely cutting of the leather

Using a large ruler and a sharp cobbler’s knife, we first cut a straight edge on the leather. Then we cut strips of leather into the desired width with our old plow knife or we use the sturdy die-cutting machine to die-cut strips from the thick leather.

Crafting the handmade belts

The strips of leather are provided with holes for the matching buckles. To ensure a nice finish, the edges of the belt are rounded, sanded, painted and polished with an edge knife. Even the inside of the holes are painted. The small parts of the belt, such as the keeper’s loop and the attachment for the buckle, also receive the same treatment. The smallest details are just as important!

Ready for the new owner!

The handmade belt is cut to size for the customer. The buckles are stitched on by hand or attached to the belt with the leather attachment. The belt is checked and polished one last time and then the belt travels to its new owner in a cloth bag.

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