Tanner

Tanners take raw animal skins and convert them into leather, using tannins made from mineral salts, vegetable matter or a combination of both. Skins from large animals (such as calves, young cattle, cows, bull-calves, bulls and buffalo) are known as hides. The same products from smaller animals (such as lambs, sheep, goats and exotic creatures) are referred to as skins. In French, a distinction is drawn between the processing of hides (tannerie) and of skins (mégisserie).