Shagren is a type of leather, paper and a method of painting walls

Classification of skin types, depending on the way of its tanning, dressing and origin, is very extensive, and it is owned only by technologists.

Than a chepak is different from a yuti, like a chevrelet or a nappa from a booze, ordinary consumers do not need to know, but in each specific case, when choosing the right thing, one must understand the criteria for its quality. A special kind of skin is shagreen. It is very soft and pleasant to the touch material with a characteristic relief pattern.

Motherland of Shagreen - North Africa

During the colonial campaigns in North Africa (at the beginning of the XIX century), French soldiers and officers, great connoisseurs of everything beautiful, were simply struck by an unknown sort of skin for them. The Arabs called it "shagri", which translates as "horse back". The conquerors began to pronounce this word in their own way - chagrin - in Russian transcription "shagreen". This name has taken root all over the world, and the technology of manufacture has become widespread in all countries with developed livestock and leather production. The fine-grained structure of the surface gives any subject a special glamor, be it furniture, some other small household item, a notebook, a cigarette lighter, a cigarette case, a handbag, a purse ... Yes, there are few beautiful things in the design of which is quite appropriate shagreen skin!

Using the properties of shagreen skin

Unlike the Arab peoples, in Europe this type of leather was used more often not for sewing shoes or clothes, but for decorative purposes. Thin, soft and rough shagreen is a wonderful material for upholstery of armchairs and sofas. They look great like books and special expensive albums, bound by it, as well as cases for musical instruments or musical folders, in the design of which it is used. A characteristic patterned pattern of it gave the name of a grade of paper, imitating the relief in a special way made by donkey skin.

Shagren has always been expensive, in production it is labor-intensive. Earlier it was imported from Asia Minor and Persia, then learned to do in other countries, and in Russia too.

Classical shagreen is made from donkey skins, but it is quite permissible to make it from mutton, goat and almost any other, which gives a competent surface pattern for a competent treatment.

Complex technology

To get the desired effect, the skin from the animal's ridge must first be held in water, then filled with a frame, sprinkled with seeds of grass (usually quinoa) and covered with dense matter. As a result, small pimples appear on the front surface, which are carefully cut with a knife. This procedure requires special care and skill. Then the semi-finished product is again soaked and tanned (alum or take). The boundary between dense and soft areas creates the very unique pattern that shagreen is famous for. This is really refined leather - the perfect upholstery for luxury furniture.

The effect of shagreen in home design

The magic properties of shagreen do not give rest to designers who deal with the design of residential and office space. The effect of "shagreen" during painting is achieved after drying the thin layer by solvent treatment.

Strangely enough, this device arose as a result of studying the unpleasant phenomenon that occurred when on the body of cars not very skilled painters instead of a smooth surface received small annoying irregularities. These unpleasant cases of marriage were carefully analyzed, and the conditions under which "shagreen" emerges are revealed. The photo of the increased microcracks clarified the picture: thanks to them it became clear that the violation of the surface structure is due to the uneven drying of the paint. Well, what's bad for the surface of the car can be very beautiful applying to the wall.