How We Make Our Collars

Every Shiner Pet collar is a handmade piece of functional art that will last a lifetime.  We are proud of every collar we make.
Our collars are handmade by leather artisans who average over twenty years of experience.  When we say handmade, we mean handmade.  
We do not cut corners.  On materials, fabrication, or anything else.   We only use finest quality full grain leather.  All of our hardware is stainless steel or solid brass.  
Our fabrication process is very artisanal.  Each collar goes through about 15 separate work stations which takes about two and a half days.  We do not rush through the process.  Every step is important.  
Below is a simplified process of how we make a collar.  The process is very similar for our leashes and harnesses.  
    1. Prepare Hides of Full Grain Leather for Cutting
      • Hides are laid out for inspection, the edges are trimmed, and any areas with imperfections are removed. 
      • We only buy complete hides because we need very long strips of leather. For example, our large leashes use two 7-foot strips of leather.  Thats over 14 feet! We do not sew a 5 foot strip and a 2 foot strip together to make the 7-foot strips.  Instead we use two continuous 7 foot pieces.  This adds time and expense to the process but results in a stronger, superior product.
    2. Cut the Hides into Strips
      • Prepared hides are cut into long strips of leather with uniform width.
    3. Cut Strips into Individual Pieces 
      • The long strips are hand measured and cut into two smaller pieces that will be to make the collar
    4. Polish Backside of Leather Pieces
      • The backside of each piece is polished and smoothed to achieve an even thickness and prepare the backsides of the two pieces to be glued together.  
    5. Reflective Material Placed In Between Pieces 
      • Only applies to collars that have reflective material designs.   
      • We use super high quality industrial grade reflective fabric that's most commonly used in making clothing for firefighters.  No cheap reflective tape!   
    6. Two Pieces are Glued together by Hand 
      • Special leather glue is very carefully hand applied to the backside of each piece of leather.  We let the glue dry sit on the backside of each piece for about 15 minutes.  This allows the glue to penetrate uniformly and ensures there will be no glue that has to be wiped off the edges when we press the pieces together.  
      • The backsides of the two pieces are then pressed together by hand to form one leather strip.
    7. Strips and Rolled and Pressed
      • Before the glue sets, each strip is ran through a rolling press where high amounts of pressure are uniformly applied to the strip.  This removes any space or air pockets that may have been in between the two strips and ensures an uniform bonding. 
      • Strips of leather are then laid out for a few hours until the glue has dried and the bonded permanently.  
    8. Reflective Designs are Hand Punched into Strips
      • At this point, we have reflective material on the inside of the strip but it cannot be seen.
      • We hand punch one of our designs (hole, rectangle, heart) into one side of the leather strip to expose the reflective material that we placed inside of the strip earlier.   
      • This is a very time consuming process but is necessary to incorporate reflective material in an effective yet understated manner.  
    9. Sand and Polish Edges 
      • The edges of the leather strips are meticulously sanded then polished.  This ensures the edges of the strips are even, smooth, and clean.  
    10. Paint the Edges (1st Coat)
      • The edges of the strips are hand painted with a specialty leather paint.
      • Strips are then left to dry for a few hours.
    11. Paint the Edges (2nd Coat) 
      • The edges of the strip are hand painted with a specialty leather paint.
      • Strips are then left to dry.
    12. Painted Edges are Heated and Polished 
      • Painted edges are heated using a hand-held artisanal tool then repolished.
      • This creates a smooth even edge.
    13. 1st Round of Sewing 
      • The strips are sewn together with high quality nylon thread and an artisanal sewing machine.
    14. Hardware Attached 
      • Buckle and ring are placed on the collar and secured with rivets
      • All of our hardware is either solid brass or stainless steel
    15. 2nd Round of Sewing 
      • Selected areas around the hardware are reinforced with additional stitching.
      • These areas are very difficult to reach because the hardware has already been attached
      • This stitching cannot be done with a sewing machine and is done entirely by hand.
    16. Personalized Engraving (Optional) 
      • We use an laser engraver to engrave whatever text you want (dogs name, phone number, address, etc.)
      • Text can be placed on a variety of locations (frontside tip, backside tip, leather loop, etc.)
      • Check out our engraving process