It was Salsa Verde night at my summer home in Northern Michigan a few weeks ago. This time, it was to go over some freshly caught lake salmon, cooked over the grill. Turned out fantastic… but that is a topic for another blog entry.

What struck me as I was chopping up the parsley was the uniqueness of my new cutting board. I had been originally been drawn to this board for its’ unique aesthetics… but what sealed the deal for me was the tag informing me that this cutting board was engineered from 100% recycled materials, including a by product from the paper industry that looks like confetti in the material. I thought this was very cool.

So here I was, cutting away… very happy with my purchase when that creative light bulb went off. What if we used scrap leather from our manufacturing process to create a new line??!! Not only could it look super sharp but we would be using more of our raw materials.

A few calls to our friends in Italy put me in touch with a great company that utilizes scrap from Italian vegetable-tanned leather. The scrap is bound together and rolled into smooth sheets.

Back to my creative director and her awesome genius- desk sets with an eco-friendly bias for office work. We’re in the testing stage now. So far so good. It is a great writing surface, but it is always asking for another espresso.