Leather brings out his creative instincts

The patterns become vivid under Cai Honghao's hammers and shaping tools. Depending on the complexity, a work can take a week to several months. [Photo by Gao Shan/Xinhua]

Each work undergoes many stages, from drawing pictures on paper to coloring the crafted leather. He does it all himself, but sometimes his wife helps.

The back of the leather should be pasted on paper to prevent deformation, and then covered with tape to seal it during coloring. Cai also sprays water on the surface to make the leather easier to work.

His 70-square-meter studio is filled with leather and tools. Delineating pens are used to carve the outline of the pattern, while the rotating gravers create the indentations on the leather.

The patterns become vivid under Cai's hammers and shaping tools. "It is an extremely time-consuming process," he says. His shoulders can ache after bending over his worktop day and night. "But I enjoy it."

Cai blends different colors of dye and paints them in with the help of a magnifying glass. "The gloss of the leather texture should be kept during this process," he says.

For a bag or belt, he also sews pieces of leather together.