Materials
What is ALRAN French goatskin?
The leather is the whole product, so it is worth being specific about it. This page explains what ALRAN goatskin is, where it comes from, and how it behaves over the years you own it.
What is ALRAN goatskin?
ALRAN goatskin is a full-grain leather tanned by ALRAN in Mazamet, France, and sold under the name Chèvre Sully. It is valued for a natural pebbled grain, unusual suppleness for its strength, and a surface that deepens in colour as it is handled. Every Kenkode charm is cut from it.
Mazamet in southern France has been a leather town for generations, and ALRAN is one of the tanneries that kept the trade there. Chèvre Sully is its best known goatskin: full-grain, meaning the outermost layer of the hide is left intact rather than sanded smooth and stamped with an artificial texture. That surface is the part that ages well.
Goatskin is also strong for its weight. The fibre structure is dense and interlocking, which is why a piece thin enough to hang from a zip pull does not stretch out of shape the way a softer split leather would.
How is goatskin different from cowhide?
Goatskin is lighter, more flexible and more scratch-resistant than cowhide of the same thickness, with a distinctive pebbled grain. Cowhide is stiffer and more uniform. For a small object handled every day, goatskin holds its shape and takes marks better.
A bag charm lives a harder life than most leather goods. It swings against zips, gets caught in door handles, sits at the bottom of a bag. Cowhide at the thickness a charm needs tends to crease permanently along the fold; goatskin's grain absorbs that movement and reads as patina rather than damage.
The trade-off is that goatskin's grain varies from hide to hide. Two charms of the same design will not be identical. That is a property of the material, not a defect.
Material specification
| Detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| Leather | ALRAN Chèvre Sully, full-grain French goatskin |
| Tannery | ALRAN, Mazamet, France |
| Grain | Natural pebbled goatskin grain, unique to each piece |
| Hardware | Solid metal swivel clasp |
| Wears as | Bag charm or keychain, interchangeably |
| Currency | Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) |
| Shipping | Free on every order, nationwide across Indonesia |
Dimensions vary by design and are listed on each product page.
How do you care for goatskin leather?
Wipe goatskin with a dry or barely damp soft cloth, let it air-dry away from direct heat, and keep it out of prolonged rain. Do not use household cleaners, alcohol or saddle soap. The leather is finished at the tannery and needs no conditioning in normal use.
Colour deepening and small surface marks are expected. Full-grain leather records handling, and that record is what separates a piece you have owned for three years from one that came out of the box yesterday.
If a charm gets soaked, blot it rather than rubbing, then let it dry slowly at room temperature. Drying leather quickly with heat is the one thing that causes lasting damage.
Is ALRAN leather genuine?
Yes. ALRAN is a working tannery in Mazamet, France, and Chèvre Sully is its goatskin line. Every Kenkode charm is cut from that leather.
Why does the colour vary between charms?
Because the leather is a natural material, dye takes slightly differently across each hide, and the grain pattern is never repeated exactly. Two charms of the same design will be recognisably the same product and visibly individual pieces.
Is goatskin waterproof?
No. Goatskin resists light rain and dries without harm, but it is not waterproof and should not be submerged. If it gets wet, blot it with a dry cloth and let it dry at room temperature rather than near a heater.
What does it mean that leather patinas?
Patina is the gradual change in a full-grain leather's colour and sheen as oils from your hands, light and ordinary wear work into the surface. The leather darkens slightly, softens, and takes on a lived-in finish that cannot be manufactured.