Across the project’s development, Bleat founder Tristin Norwell became a familiar face in the Retrouvius shop and has incorporated salvaged, reclaimed, vintage and sustainable materials throughout the studio’s multifunctional editing rooms. Earlier this month he gave us the grand tour.
News & Views
RETROUVIUS has a philosophy to save any worthwhile material for re-use - not always obviously architectural.
Stock currently for sale in our showroom varies from handkerchief size scraps to full hides in a range of textures, colours and weights. We have moved two tonnes of the material so far this week - think of the carbon captured in producing these hides!

We see huge potential for the re-use of this leather.
It is a fantastic quality material that has many of re-uses. Our leather is familiar, non-plastic, hard wearing, natural. It can be re-used in upholstery projects or as an architectural textile.
RETROUVIUS has re-used salvaged leather in many of our home designs over the years: -
Hundreds of surplus hides were salvaged from luxury bag makers Dunhill and re-used by our team for upholstery, including this banquette in a Swiss chalet (below).

Adam saved a large quantity of padded leather panels from the former Westminster Townhall as it converted to the London Business School.
We struggled to find takers for the tobacco coloured pieces initially until we reversed the covering to reveal a more desirable suede side.

Leather panels once lining shelves and housing the nations literature at the British Library were made available to Retrouvius during Norman Fosters Great Court development at the British Museum.

Bill Amberg is brilliant with leather and worked with our design team to realise this staircase on our yacht project completed 2016.


Textiles are often over looked for their re-use potential.
Leather offers re-use as wall cladding, for headboards, upholstery, desktop skivers and for flooring (as shown below).


Leather is well suited to re-use where touch is important - the familiar, tactile and sensuous qualities of the material can be enjoyed to their utmost.
Small hides are ideal re-used for hand rails.



(with apologies to our vegan friends)