Materials · July 7, 2026 · 4 min read
Why we use solid hardwood instead of veneer
Veneer is cheaper, faster and easier to work. It also can't survive a pocket for ten years.
Most wood-faced products on the market are veneer: a paper-thin slice of nice wood glued over something cheaper. We don't build that way, and it's worth explaining why.
What veneer does well
It's efficient. One board yields dozens of faces, exotic species become affordable, and the surface looks identical to solid stock on the day it's made.
Where it fails
Thickness. A veneer face is often under a millimeter. Sand through it once and you're into the substrate with no way back. In a wallet — an object that lives against denim and gets handled daily — that's a short clock.
What solid stock buys you
Depth to sand, depth to refinish, and edges that show real end grain instead of a glue line. If a corner gets dinged, it's still wood underneath.
The honest trade-off
Solid pieces are harder to cut cleanly, waste more material, and cost more. We think that's the right trade for something you'll carry every day for years.
Describe it. We draw it in wood.
Type any scene and watch it take shape as a real hardwood inlay design.
Open the design studio