Materials
The Italian manufacturers we have sourced use many different types of leathers. The leather used is high quality Italian leather from reputable sources. Leather ages in different ways and some are more delicate. Soft leather unstructured bags tend to acquire a vintage used look while a structured palmellato leather bag does not. Both are fine but its personal taste
Natural leathers are untreated and can vary in texture and shade. Dark coloured dyes from leathers can migrate onto clothing and visa versa.Take care with delicate, smooth or patent leathers avoid rubbing and sharp surfaces.
Care
A genuine beautiful Italian leather handbag can be an expensive purchase but should last you a lifetime, making it a great investment. Once you have decided on your fabulous handbag and made your purchase there are a few guidelines to keeping your handbag looking beautiful that you need to follow.
Careful attention needs to be taken when storing your bag. Always use the protective cloth sac or dust bag that your bag comes with. The dust bag will allow air to circulate freely to avoid mildew and should be soft to avoid scratches.
Make sure all items that could leak or stain your bag are removed, particularly perfume, make up, pens and of course any foods such as sweets or candies that could produce mould. Leather is a highly absorbant material and anything left inside may transfer and stain your bag during storage. Once your bag has been emptied, use a soft cloth which is slightly damp to remove any dust. Do not use excessive water or rub. Allow to dry naturally.
Next, after emptying and cleaning, you need to stuff it with tissue paper, ideally you should keep all the packaging that comes with your bag as this can be kept inside the dust bag when you are using your handbag. If you have not kept the original packaging, use paper with no transferable colours, scrunch into lengths that comfortably fit and lightly stuff your bag so it takes a natural shape carefully filling out any folds.
The dust bag should be big enough to comfortably fit your bag with an opening large enough to accommodate without folding or bending as this will lead to creases and unnatural lines. If you wish to use a plastic bag as an extra final layer of protection, be sure there are several holes and loosely tie to allow the air to circulate.
Finally, store your bag in an area away from direct sunlight, radiators and excessive changes of heat. Also there needs to be a flow of dry air as leather can absorb moisture in high humidity and moulds can grow. Do not squeeze into a small space or place items on top as this will cause creasing to the leather. Dust bags usually have handles or draw strings so it can be hung too.
Unless otherwise stated by the manufacturer, you do not need to use any leather treatments. Chemicals in these can clog the pores in the leather and shorten its life. If your bag gets wet, whether it is patent, vegetable tanned or palmellato leather, dry off as soon as possible and leave in a well ventilated area to dry naturally. Small scuff marks can be treated with a small amount of neutral coloured polish. Dab onto scuff mark and use a soft cloth to buff. This will not work for ink stains or pen marks. To remove these I would recommend using the services of a professional leather cleaning expert.
If you are using 2 or 3 bags at a time, as they are in fairly constant use it is not really practical to fully store the bags, so simply empty the contents, place in it’s own dust bag and hang it up.