Leather work in Ubrique dates back to the ancient Roman and Muslim tanneries. At the end of the XIX Century Ubrique experienced a lot of growth thanks to a boom in the sector. Today this sector is at the fore of national and international exports. The collections change each season and they are often designed in Ubrique.
The work in the factories ( most of them were originally family businesses) begins with cutting the leather by hand as it was done in the past. The raw material is top quality leather of different kinds, colour and textures.
The designed are cut piece by piece. In the past this was done using moulds whereas today it is carried out by mechanical blades. The second step consists of reducing the leather to the desired thickness by means of a levelling machine. This is follow by the sewing and pasting processes which are entirely carried out by hand with traditional tools such as the unmistakeable "patacabra" (goat´s leg). They are then engraved and the labels are attached. A medium sized factory may produce around 70 finished leather bags in two hours.
