Tan Moroccan Leather Pouf

Natural tan hide with cream whipstitching and a star worked into the top — the plainest and most traditional of the poufs, and the one the shape was originally made in. The colour shifts a little across the panels because each part of a hide takes the dye differently.

Product details

• Product type: Moroccan leather pouf, supplied flat and unstuffed
• Material: 100% cowhide leather, hand-stitched in Morocco
• Size: about 50 cm across and 35 cm high (20 × 14 in) — a couple of centimetres either way, because each is cut from a hide
• Colour: natural tan
• Stitching: cream whipstitch with an embroidered star on the top face
• Filling: not included — zip underneath, fill at home (see below)
• New, made in the traditional way; not an antique
• Care: wipe with a damp cloth and use a leather conditioner now and then; keep it away from radiators and direct sun, which dry and fade the hide

It arrives flat — you fill it at home

The pouf is posted unstuffed and folded into a small parcel, which is why the postage on one is no more than on a cushion. Open the zip underneath and fill it yourself: old clothes and towels are the traditional filling and still the best, a beanbag insert is the tidy modern answer, and wool or foam offcuts sit somewhere between. Pack it much firmer than feels right — a pouf that is loosely filled will slump and never recover its shape. Expect to need more than you think.

Where it goes

A footstool that also works as a spare seat when people arrive. Tan reads as a neutral against almost any sofa and darkens attractively with wear. See the other Moroccan leather poufs, or the ikat cushions and suzani cushions that sit well beside them.

How it is made, and where it comes from

This is the one thing in the shop that does not come from Uzbekistan. We keep it because it belongs in the same rooms. Each pouf is cut from cowhide in Morocco, the panels stitched together by hand — the whipstitch you can see running along every seam is done with a needle, not a machine — and the star on the top face is worked into the leather before assembly. They are made in the traditional way, but they are new: we do not sell them as antiques.

Because each one is cut from a hide, the size varies by a couple of centimetres and no two take the dye identically. That is the nature of the material rather than a fault.

Availability

This colour is out of stock. We buy poufs from the same Marrakesh workshop in small batches, so it can be ordered again — tell us which colour you want and we will say when the next batch is due.