Leather is never uniform. Variations in color shade and depth (light, medium, dark), and grain (smooth, pebbled) will occur from hide to hide and even within the hide. Our leathers (excluding those in the Pigmented category) bear the natural characteristics and markings of the hides from which they were made. Environment, climate, feed type, and husbandry all have a direct correlation to the natural characteristics (pore size, stretch marks, “lines” from neck and shoulder wrinkles) and markings (brands, manure damage, parasitic damage, and healed scars/scratches from barbed wire and bug bites) you will find within a hide. Inherent in the nature of this raw material and visible through the transparent dyes used on our aniline and semi-aniline leathers, these characteristics/markings are a testament to the authenticity of our leathers and should not be considered a defect. With use, the leather surface will scuff and a beautiful vintage patina will develop.