TANNERY TO DESIGN
Tanbark: Leather Knowledge Applied to Design
Tanbark is Karim Tanneries' own design brand, turning the tannery's vegetable-tanned leather into pieces for interiors. Its range includes hair-on rugs for the floor and engraved calligraphy, artwork and custom work for the wall. Buyers can view the complete finished range at the Tanbark Display Centre, inside Karim Tanneries' factory in Gujranwala, Pakistan.
THE TANBARK STORY
How Tanbark Began
Founded in 2024, Tanbark brings Karim Tanneries' knowledge of vegetable-tanned leather into design for interiors through finished pieces made from the tannery's leather.
The name reflects those material origins: TAN from tanning, BARK from the tannin-rich bark traditionally used in vegetable tanning. Together, they connect Tanbark's design identity to its tannery roots.
Explore Tanbark
Leather for the Floor
Tanbark's hair-on rugs are made from vegetable-tanned leather with the hair retained. The collections include goat, sheep, deer and reindeer rugs. Each piece's outline, colour and natural markings contribute to its appearance, bringing the material's own character into the interior.
TANBARK RUGS
Tanbark creates wall pieces by engraving calligraphy and imagery on vegetable-tanned leather. Calligraphy centres on the written form, while artwork uses imagery; both can be developed on hair-on goat leather or natural crust leather.
Calligraphy and Artwork Engraved into Leather
TANBARK WALL ART
Engraved to Your Brief
For custom work, you supply the calligraphy, artwork or design, and Tanbark engraves it on vegetable-tanned leather. The work can use either hair-on goat leather or natural crust leather.
TANBARK CUSTOM WORK
LASER ENGRAVING
Designs Engraved on Vegetable-Tanned Leather
Tanbark uses its own laser engraving machines to create designs on vegetable-tanned leather sourced from Karim Tanneries. The machines form the lettering of calligraphy, the imagery of artwork and designs supplied by customers for custom work.
A focused laser works on the material's surface, rather than cutting through the leather to produce a separate shape. Calligraphy, artwork and custom work can each be developed on either natural crust leather or hair-on goat leather, both vegetable-tanned.
HAND-FINISHING
Natural-Crust Leather Oiled After Engraving
Tanbark finishes pieces of vegetable-tanned natural crust leather individually in its own finishing booth. The work covers pieces carrying engraved calligraphy, artwork and custom work.
Leather oils are central to this work, with the selected finish determining the application method: by hand, with a pad or with a spray gun. This treatment develops the engraved leather's final surface appearance.
TANBARK DISPLAY CENTRE
Finished Work Within the Tannery
At the Tanbark Display Centre, buyers can view finished examples of vegetable-tanned leather—hair-on rugs, calligraphy, leather artwork and custom work—in one physical space.
Buyers can view the finished pieces directly, assessing their scale, surface appearance and engraved detail where present. Seeing the range together provides a fuller understanding of how Tanbark uses the tannery’s leather for floors and walls than photographs alone.
EXPLORE KARIM TANNERIES
The Knowledge Behind the Leather
Leather
Assess grain, body and handle in vegetable-tanned goat and sheep leather supplied in natural crust state, and explore grading and samples.
Vegetable Tanning
Three-stage vegetable tannage in wooden drums: pretanning, principal tanning and retanning.
Production & Quality
From raw-material selection to natural crust preparation, inspection, grading and storage, followed by individual measurement and packing after order confirmation.
Surface Development
Material handling guidance, plus buyer-led dyeing, finishing and trials to assess natural crust leather for its intended use.
Heritage
Five generations of family history, tannery operations since 1960 and the people leading Karim Tanneries today.
Resources
Materials and processes, buyer-led development and Tanbark design, company and family history, buying and sourcing, plus photographs inside the tannery.
