Leather trades

Leather activities in Almería were related to the provision of everything necessary for equipping horses. The intense change undergone in the Almeria countryside has led to the disappearance of this kind of works even though the leather industry is maintained in some workshops in the capital.

The province of Cadiz, Ubrique currently has the main European concentration of artisanal workshops which work leather. Its name has been a universal reference for decades for the abundance and quality of its leather works, under its own brands or by some of the main luxury brands such as Loewe, Christian Dior or Pierre Cardin.

Regarding Córdoba, its artistic and historic past has been so influential that the English word "Cordoban" is a reference to premium quality leather. Especially the prestige reached by Cordoban artistically worked leather (embossed, polychrome and adorned leather with gold and silver leaf) which is still maintained today.

Despite the numerous workshops dedicated to embossing and the leather and fur industries in the 18th and 19th centuries, Granada does not currently have a noted activity in this sense.

The craftsmanship of Huelva has been characterized by its narrow connection to the rural area with the manufacture of utilitarian products for the livestock and agrarian life. This closeness has been maintained until now, reaching its greatest exponent in the manufacture of artisan footwear and horse saddlery.

In the case of Jaén, hunting saddlery is the future of the leather trade since the workshops which supplied saddlery to the province's agriculture have disappeared.

In current day Malaga the leatherworks trade is gathering strength with an increase in the number of workshops while the most workshops for saddlery and footwear disappear.

The craftsmanship of Seville has mainly revolved around the world of horses, developing, among others, the work of saddler/harness makers. Therefore, it can be stated that Écija is one of the most known centres of Spanish saddlery.