![Bridge of Weir supplies leather for McLaren, Aston Martin, Volkswagen and Bentley classic cars Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Bridge of Weir Leather](/sites/default/files/styles/article/public/2023-04/Classic%20%26%20Sports%20Car%20%E2%80%93%20The%20specialist%20%E2%80%93%20Bridge%20of%20Weir%20%E2%80%93%20LEAD.png?itok=UNQyqz97)
James Muirhead opened the large envelope, stamped ‘DO NOT BEND’, that he’d just been handed by a senior car interior designer.
Inside was a rock, a piece of seatbelt, a length of thread and other random oddities. The gauntlet cast down was to match the colour of each item in leather.
A couple of weeks later, every one of the perfectly colour-matched samples was returned, including one of the envelope itself, stamped ‘DO NOT BEND’.
![Bridge of Weir Leather mixes new technologies with traditional skills Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Bridge of Weir Leather](/sites/default/files/2023-04/Classic-%26-Sports-Car-%E2%80%93-The-specialist-%E2%80%93-Bridge-of-Weir-Leather-%E2%80%93-02.png)
Machines play vital roles today, but this remains an artisanal industry
Bridge of Weir has a legacy of meeting tough demands.
When the seminal Ford Model T was in the offing, company founder Arthur Muirhead, James’ great-great-grandfather, went to the USA and convinced Henry Ford to choose his leather for the seat upholstery.
The first Model T plant built outside the USA was opened in Trafford, near Manchester, in 1911, and the cars were indeed trimmed with leather from Renfrewshire.
![Bridge of Weir Leather still uses a hands-on approach Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Bridge of Weir Leather](/sites/default/files/2023-04/Classic-%26-Sports-Car-%E2%80%93-The-specialist-%E2%80%93-Bridge-of-Weir-Leather-%E2%80%93-06.png)
Technological advances have kept Bridge of Weir Leather at the cutting edge of automotive trimming