Backpacks have always been for the everyman. And every man. Menswear heads in their selvedge jeans and Saint James fisherman hats need one. Streetwear heads want one, ideally scrawled with the banners of Supreme or Palace. And everyone else wants one, because they’re practical, and they’re functional, and, often, can take a beating. Thanks to the rise of smart-casual dress though, the humble backpack has found an even greater level of versatility. 

Just look at the recent menswear shows if you need convincing. So, for this spring summer 2022 we are ready to present some cult pieces of the Florence Leather Market collection. 

Let’s start

The Florence Leather Market backpacks are used to give a touch of class and colour to your look. These accessories are our indispensable friends, they follow us everywhere and contain the most important things of our daily life.

Therefore, like friends, make a right selection of who you want to have next to! Check out our website to choose one of the many fantastic backpack designs featured on our dynamic guide.

Sorbonne 

When a standard backpack won’t cut it? Florence Leather Market’s Sorbonne bag-backpack, made from slouchy leather and cut asymmetrically to create a draped silhouette, is about as far from classic as you can get. This model is in genuine leather made in Italy, to be more precise in Florence.

It is made in soft calf leather. The strap has a zip and can be divided into two straps to compose the two handles of the backpack. In terms of styling, you can use this backpack as a sharp accessory for work. Pair one with tailoring, or in a more casual setting, with straight leg trousers, a sweater, and sneakers.

Michael 

This resolutely modern backpack is for those daring few looking for an edgier attitude. The luxurious details create elegance adding a perfect finishing touch to any contemporary wardrobe. Ideal for the office or for a casual weekend getaway. The external zipped pocket gives you easy access to essentials like keys and tickets. It combines a roomy interior with the design details you’d expect from superior Florence Leather Market craftsmanship.

Charlie 

The backpack for those who love casual style combined with vintage: Charlie. 

Charlie is a shoulder bag made of refined calfskin leather and crafted in Italy. 

An elegant model with contemporary lines, for the person who likes to stand out from the rest with a practical, versatile and comfortable solution. 

The Charlie accessory has two external pockets, three spacious zips and a zipped back pocket big enough to hold a tablet. This backpack is designed to be carried either by hand, thanks to its comfortable handle, or over the shoulder with its comfortable and adjustable shoulder straps. 

See, the right backpack should be more than just another place to store your stuff. It can be an outfit-making accessory, a mobile office, an ad hoc weekender, a TSA-ready carry-on, or all four—at the same time. So, you need to choose the right one for you. By choosing one of the many models of backpacks that can be found in our online collection, you will be sure that you have purchased a fashion accessory with the best value for money.

Dyeing process

The leather dyeing process is what adds the wonderful colour to a finished leather design. This can be anything from the browns and blacks associated with leather to bright, bold colours. Each dye is meticulously formulated using a highly accurate computer program, without which it would be impossible to get a consistent colour each time.

The actual dyeing process can be incredibly lengthy with hides needing to be added to a large drum along with their chosen dye for a long period of time to ensure the dye takes. After around 8 hours a cutting should be taken to ensure that the dye has completely saturated the hide. Otherwise, the leather will look patchy. Afterwards the leather needs to be rinsed thoroughly to remove any residual dye or chemicals. Once rinsed the hide should be dried entirely.

FINISHING

When the dyeing process is complete, the last stage in the leather-making is the finishing. This is the stage where the leather will be worked to ensure that it has the supple, flexible nature that is so desired in leather as well as the glossy finish. A finish that not only protects the surface but also one which can be easier to clean. This stage would be skipped if a naked leather was desired.

To soften the leather a machine called a staker is used where the leather is both stretched and lots of natural oils will be added to lubricate the fabric. This stretching motion also tightens the pore structure of the leather. This helps create a higher quality finish that is desirable to consumers.

The final touch

The final touch is to apply a finishing spray on the leather. What the finishing spray is will depend on the desired finish of the leather. For instance, a coat of acrylic can be added for a patent leather finish, mother of pearl can be added to give a pearlescent finish and at this stage leather can be embossed with patterns. On a large-scale production, the leather will be hung and moved through the chosen spray line before being put into an oven to be cured. Once finished the leather can be stacked to prevent the leather getting creased and then it can be sent off ready to be used in making leather products. Full grain leathers, however, will skip this stage as it’s not needed. Instead, this leather will go through an ironing process, which will use varying degrees of pressure and heat until the desired sheen is obtained.

Last step

The last stage of the process will be a quality check to ensure the leather has the correct colour and that there are no tears or anomalies in the leather. From here the leather can be rolled and shipped ready to be turned into quality luggage, handbags or any other leather accessory.

This technique is the one that still today, after many years, our craftsmen continue to use to guarantee the wonderful colour of the models, which has always distinguished our market. Visit our online store and stay tuned for more industry information.

Florence is well known as the birthplace of Renaissance art and humanist thinking but it was the economic power it wielded that made it possible for culture to flourish. At the foundations of the city’s economic success lay the “Arti” that worked kind of like unions in protecting workers and the trade secrets that would make Florentine craftsmanship (especially fabrics and leather) known throughout Europe. The Arte dei Cuoiai, or the leather-workers guild, was created in 1282 but it wasn’t until the more recent centuries that leather began to take a centre stage as one of the items that embody Italian craftsmanship and design. Today we want to speak about this, especially about the art of tanning (leather). We want to focus on how florentines manage these techniques and how they transform the raw hide into what is known as leather.

Tanning process in leather industry

According with Wikipedia “Tanning is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed.”

Tanning hide into leather involves a process which permanently alters the protein structure of skin, making it more durable and less susceptible to decomposition, and colouring.

Before tanning, the skins are dehaired, degreased, desalted, and soaked in water over a period of six hours to two days. Historically this process was considered a noxious or “odoriferous trade” and relegated to the outskirts of town.

Historically, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name, derived from the bark of certain trees. An alternative method, developed in the 1800s, is chrome tanning, where chromium salts are used instead of natural tannins.

The tanning process in the leather industry

What tanning process did the leather go through?

Tanning is the most important part of the leather making process. It transforms the raw hide into what is known as leather. This process stabilises the leather so it can’t decompose, soak up water or shrink. There are two main ways to do this.

• Chrome Tanning / mineral tanning: Processing the hide in a mix of acids, chemicals, and salts. This can take 3-24 hours. Most of the leather around the world has undergone chrome tanning.
• Vegetable Tanning: This can also be called natural leather or bio leather (although these terms are kind of thrown around to mean whatever the seller wants). This is the traditional tanning method that soaks the hides in vats of water mixed with natural vegetable solutions made from the bark, roots and leaves of numerous plant sources such as oak, spruce, chestnut, mimosa, and many others. This process takes many weeks. This is the closest to the traditional tanning methods and the best for the environment.

Our infallible method has been handed down for centuries, which is why Florentine art is now known throughout the world and together with its products. Buying genuine leather accessories means giving value to tradition. Come and visit our online store.