Handmade Leather Bags – Shine to Finish

Now that you have been introduced to the various types of leather grains, it is time to delve deeper. We now look into the process that gives that handmade leather bag of yours the perfect finish, Tanning. It is a long and ardous process which is necessary to turn the processed hides into ductile leather. The steps involved in tanning sometimes number over a hundred and take over six weeks to complete. All of this simply to make sure that one special bag shines the best.
Once the soaking, wringing, drying and conditioning are over, the hide still requires finishing to make the material market ready. This is final phase before these hides are moulded into their various forms and it is here that these stretched membranes are given a make over to make them more aesthetically appealing. The type of finishing determines what kind of post sale care will be required, some of the commonly used ones are

• Aniline – These retain the original grain of the leather complete with all scars and pores. They are formed using only soluble dyes that do not cover the original surface.
• Pigmenting – Can be considered similar to painting a wall where the original surface of the hide is completely covered to hide all imperfections.
• Nubuck – It is formed by buffing the top grain of the leather with a fine sand paper to give it velvet like appearance.
• Suede – These are formed when the grain if buffed with a sand paper from both sides, that is why suede products are ‘fuzzy’ from both sides. It can be processed from any kind of leather though the best and strongest suedes are made from split leather.
• Patent – Highly recognizable from their glossy finish, they are formed by coating the grain with PVC or polyurethane. Mostly used in high fashion footwear, sturdy but reduces the surface aeration.

There are ofcourse numerous other types of finishing applied to leather surfaces nowadays, such as Oily, metallic, waxy, Napa and bonded or reconstituted. But each of these can be derived from the parent set.
As always we here at the Antidote Store are concerned if your attention span has expired. So to remedy that simply contact us for all your leather related queries and we’ll try to answer them the best we can.

Impact of the Leather Bags on the Society

Like a faithful and time honoured companion, the designer leather handbag has been at womens side through the journey of our civilisation. So much so that at times , some handbags have forever etched their name in our culture, language and memories. They have played their part perfectly along side politicians, monarchs and actresses alike. Proving their usefullness through both times of peace and times of war.
Perhaps the most famous among these side slung sidekicks is the Asprey wielded by Britains First Female Prime Minister, Baroness Margaret Thatcher. Whether by her approval or lack thereof, the one fashion accessory she became synonymous with was handbags. Its fame even reached the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, with the term 'handbagging' coined to sum up the fierce dressing down she gave her opponents or colleagues.
Numerous other such phrases have been added to our language, the origins of whch can be attributed to the buckled hides of these bags. ‘Handbags at dawn’ is another such phrase. A jocular derivation of the phrase ‘pistols at dawn’ from 1980s UK, it refers to women hitting eachother with handbags during a physical altercation.
It can be safely said that if behind every successful man there’s a woman, then beside every successful woman is her trusted handbag. These behind-the-scene heroes have never stumbled in their journey and never faltered in their duty. People are even calling them a woman’s most trusted friend. It’s right up the wardrobe royalty ladder along side the diamonds and the little-black-dress. There are even rumors of a dedicated museum being built for these marvelous travel mates, probably somewhere in Amsterdam.
All of this and more, simply to put forth the heritage and history connected with the straps of your latest designer leather handbag.