Any company that got its start during the Great Depression and continues to thrive in spite of our current economic conundrum must be doing something right. 

For example, Moore & Giles, a family-run operation based in Lynchburg, Virginia, that supplies some of the most beautiful leathers in the world to the home furnishings industry.

I have always loved leather upholstery (I still have my heart set on a pair of Belgian wing back chairs covered in shiny black leather—with whitewashed wood feet and antique brass nail heads).

But before I knew this company's work, I had no idea how soft leather could be or that it could be dyed the exact color of, say, lapiz lazuli?

But it can! And then some! The range of color and texture in the collection is simply staggering.

And recently, they began crafting some of their leathers into accessories like travel bags and belts. I seem to have fallen for one bag in particular (pictured below):

It's called the Berkeley Doctor Bag, and get this: To achieve the hazy, subtle metallic texture, they tan the leather, laser cut the surface, and brush it with a finish that looks at once gold, silver, and copper.

Two words: brilliant technique.