Ask Aaron: A New Series about Leather - Featured in thehogring.com

We’re excited to introduce a new article series: “Ask Aaron.”

Aaron Laithwaite, founder and CEO of Hydes Leather, has graciously volunteered to answer trimmers’ questions about leather.

He’s the perfect man for the job — as he runs North America’s leading supplier of premium OEM leather hides. His company also offers a host of premium services, including custom perforation, embroidery, weaving, skiving and more.

Every month, we’ll take a question from a member of The Hog Ring community and pose it to Aaron, who will respond with his expert opinion.

The goal of this article series is to educate and inform auto trimmers on any and all issues regarding automotive-grade leather. After all, the more we know about leather, the better we’ll become at our craft.

We’ll launch the article series on Thursday. But before then, let’s get to know Aaron.

How did you become involved in the leather industry?

I got into leather by chance. When I was 27, I formed a business to import furniture from Southeast Asia. I scraped together some money to get to a trade show in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Without much planning and a fair bit of blind confidence, my business partner and I scoured the halls trying to figure out what we could afford, and what would be the best seller.

We were early to the game of imports from that region. We chose leather, mostly because we thought it would be easier to sell 30 sofa sets than 300 Dining table sets.

From there, the company evolved to the point that I was designing most of our range, and also sourcing all the leather from Italy. That’s basically how it began for me.

Read the full Q&A here: http://www.thehogring.com/2019/03/27/ask-aaron-laithwaite-leather/