FAQ
Who is Henk Berg?
Henk Berg began as a small business in Tasmania, Australia more than thirty five years ago. It was created by Dutch-born craftsman Henk van den Berg. What started as a one man workshop in Tasmania grew into a small but global business specialising in producing high quality leather bags.
Today Henk Berg is still owned and operated by the same family.
Why aren't your bags made in Australia anymore?
As the appreciation grew for our high quality vegetable tanned leather bags it was no longer a possible for one person to keep up with demand.
In search of other craftspeople capable of producing these specialised leather products Henk began to work with a small family workshop in Indonesia. We have proudly worked side by side with the same family for over fifteen years.
We strongly believe in fair trade and sustainability and apply these principles to all our business dealings.
Although Henk Berg has greatly expanded from it's humble beginnings, the company still maintains the highest standards of workmanship and materials. While our products are now made all over the world, we work hard to obtain the best designs, value and quality for our customers.
What is so special about the leather your bags are made from?
We select the highest quality real leather for our bags and only use the ancient process of vegetable tanning to treat the hides.
Unlike modern tanning processes, which conceal the natural characteristics of the hides, vegetable tanning allows the natural qualities of the leather to shine through. It also retains the leather's inherent softness.
After the leather is tanned it takes great skill and craftsmanship to assemble the individual parts into a bag or wallet, which is why our bags are handcrafted.
Vegetable tanning also has less impact on the environment than other tanning processes because raw materials are used, including natural tannins sourced from bark, wood, fruits, pods and leaves.
It’s true that the vegetable tanning process is more complicated, lengthy and not as cheap as other methods- but we think the result is worth it.