clife: Brass and Leather from an Osaka Metalworks
Some things get better the longer you use them. Leather, brass, wood and denim all change in color and texture with time, and because each owner's use is different, people say they "grow" them. This time we visited Unai Kinzoku Kogyo, a metalworking company in Higashinari, Osaka, that combines leather and metal in its own brand, clife.
We spoke with Mr. Nakamura, who has designed every clife product, and Ms. Ishihara from planning and sales. Everything is made entirely in-house.
Decades of design experience
"When I joined in my twenties, I spent every day designing belt buckles," Mr. Nakamura recalls. Back then, things used in Japan were made and sold in Japan. Gradually, production moved overseas. His work changed with it: buckles made in Taiwan, then whole belts, then wallets. "With wallets, you have to design the structure precisely or it doesn't add up." He took wallets apart, made paper prototypes, and built up his own design know-how.
By his forties, as cheaper overseas fittings took over, the design work had almost disappeared. Rather than lose heart, he signed up for a bag-making class as a hobby. "That class was the most fun I've had in my life," he laughs. "I love figuring out what shapes of parts combine into a form, and what it looks like taken apart."
Metal × leather
He first launched a bag brand within the company, but making everything alone, he could not produce enough. "We're a metalworking company, so why not make a brand combining our own fittings with leather? Metalworkers usually only do metal, and leather makers only leather. We can do both, from design to production. That's something others can't copy." That brand became clife.
When we first met the brand, we had long been looking for a leather goods maker that truly expressed Japanese manufacturing. clife was different: a brand rooted in metalworking, able to make its own unique fittings. And it turned out to be just down the street from our own office in Higashinari.
Leather built to last
clife uses only pit-tanned leather. Most leather is tanned quickly in rotating drums. Pit tanning soaks hides slowly in pools of plant tannins. "Think of a drum washing machine: spinning loosens the fibers. Pit tanning works slowly, so the fibers stay tight, and the leather is tough and resilient." Once common, pit tanning is now rare worldwide; Mr. Nakamura sources his from a tannery in Himeji whose skill and dedication won him over.
The beauty of bare brass
Wherever possible, the brass parts are left unplated, so the oils of your hands slowly give them a deep, antique tone. Both leather and brass change the more you use them, becoming truly your own.
Simple, and hard to copy
The GRASP carabiner key ring has a sharp, elegant form and is popular with men looking for something a little different. Many clife pieces fold from a single piece of leather. "We cut parts down and folded one hide into card and coin pockets. Pursuing simplicity, we removed everything unnecessary." "It looks simply made, but the tailoring, the structure and the overall design are full of care. I'd be happy if people noticed that."
In the factory
We watched the GRASP being made. A brass sheet is cut into strips, then pressed into shape; pilot holes keep each strike perfectly aligned. Because pressing makes the underside bulge slightly, each piece is pressed again to flatten it, then stamped with the brand name and "MADE IN JAPAN." The pieces then tumble for about 90 minutes with stones, water and soap, just like a washing machine. Springs and rivets are fitted by hand; for GRASP, the rivets are pressed completely flat with a high-pressure machine.
What comes next
Ms. Ishihara, who joined from the fashion industry, hopes to add unisex designs and more metal-focused pieces, and brings fresh ideas through social media. "I've always worked things out by feel," says Mr. Nakamura. "Lately I want to really grow the brand. But the designs only I can think of, shapes other brands wouldn't make, those we must never lose."
Simple in technique, but full of care that is hard to imitate: clife is for anyone who loves things with character. Our thanks to everyone at Unai Kinzoku Kogyo.
