THE CRAFT OF SMYTHSON

Since 1887, we've been honing our craftsmanship, using traditional production methods passed down through generations of artisans. It sits at the centre of everything we make, and every piece – whether paper or leather – passes through skilled hands before it's finished. Discover the
techniques behind our craft below.

OUR PAPER CRAFT

Made to embrace the handwritten. From the rustle of a tissue-lined envelope to the glimmer of gold gilt-edging, every piece is produced at our Wiltshire workshop and finished by hand.

Gilt-edging

By delicately applying heat to sheets of gold or silver leaf, our signature gilt-edge stationery adds a decorative finish to your correspondence.

Tissue Lining

Our envelopes are hand-lined by our artisans with soft tissue, in a range of colourways, using a ‘full wrap’ technique to cover all interior surfaces.

Engraving

Intricately cutting lettering, crests, or symbols into a steel die or copperplate using a needle-like burin, our traditional printing technique has been perfected for decades.


HAND-BORDERING

Spread like a deck of cards, each piece of
stationery is painted by hand, achieving a single
or double border in block colours. Careful
attention is needed to avoid any smudging and
ensure lines are perfectly straight.

OUR LEATHER CRAFT


Thoughtfully designed down to every stitch, each piece begins with a careful selection of the finest materials, hand-assembled by skilled artisans.

TANNERIES


We carefully source our leather from Leather Working Group-certified tanneries to ensure they’re as responsible as can be, each piece as hard-wearing – and long-lasting – as the next.

FINISHES


After embossing the leather to add the desired effect, our artisans use a special 'tumbling' treatment to bring out its natural grain, softening the fibres for a luxuriously yielding texture.

GOLD STAMPING


Each brass die is carefully arranged and
aligned to a fraction of a millimetre.
Warming the brass to 100ºC activates the
gold leaf, and a gentle press of the lever
begins the embossing process.

DETAILS OF A DIARY


The story of a diary, from Featherweight paper
to hand-finished leather covers – over a
century in the making.

READ MORE
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PANAMA

A Smythson signature, Panama leather is lightweight, flexible and hard-wearing with our hallmark cross-grain finish.

LUDLOW

With its semi-matte finish, Ludlow leather is butter-soft to the touch and has a subtle natural grain texture.

MARA

Glossy and polished, Mara leather is distinguished by its crocodile-embossed texture and rich, dimensional depth of colour