Men and women of different ages need accessories such as bags or backpacks for everyday life. They can be useful for many reasons: to bring the most important things, to go to work and carry computers and documents, to take a trip. An accessory like this is used all the time, so it’s more likely to get damaged or broken. If after our purchase we spend a few days and there is already something wrong, maybe the product was not of good quality.

To have a long-lasting, solid, and well-made product it is better to buy a backpack or a handmade bag made in Italy. This will make us spend a bit more at the beginning but will guarantee us a high-quality product, which we will not have to change from year to year. Buying handicrafts is always a good idea.

Why choose an artisanal leather accessory

A handmade accessory ensures a high quality since it is produced by hand and with excellent materials. Leather in Italy is worked with care and always guarantees durability. A belt, a wallet or a leather briefcase can last many years, even the whole life. The seams are resistant, the material is solid and hardly ruins. Compared to fast fashion products we will spend more, but we will have a top-quality product in our hands. By buying Italian handicrafts we make a sustainable choice, against too much waste of the market. Buying less but more quality products, in fact, is good for the planet, in addition to the fact that we support artisanal activities in place of large chains.

Choosing to buy a handmade leather accessory therefore has its great advantages: lasts longer over time, supports small and medium-sized realities, is a sustainable and ethical choice. In addition to this, these are objects that are very beautiful, designed and made with great care to never be trivial.

There are many leather accessories, the most used are backpacks and bags, but what is the difference between the two? And which is better for us? Let’s see what the main features of backpacks and bags are, and which is the right one for us.

leather backpack

A leather backpack is an almost indestructible accessory. We can put it where we want and always take it with us, it will hardly get ruined! You can use it for work, but also for a trip, and it can contain many useful things. Having always on the shoulders does not encumber us, indeed it will be very comfortable. There are backpacks of many colors and sizes, both for women and men, so there is an embarrassment of choice. Some models are more elegant, others more casual.

Everyone must have at least one backpack, because it is one of those convenient and useful accessories that can save us on many occasions. The backpacks can be adjusted and adapted to each person, even with different physicality.

Leather bag

A leather bag is a jewel that can last for years without ever showing a scratch. It can be small or very large, the important thing is that it contains everything we need. The bag is first a useful accessory for everyday life, but it can also be beautiful to show off with different outfits. Leather is a durable and elegant material, so we can wear a handmade bag for different occasions.

A leather bag can be a very special and beautiful gift to give to friends, colleagues, and relatives. Being a particular and very useful accessory will always be appreciated.

Where to buy leather accessories

Leather is a material that needs to be very worked before it can be used to create accessories. There are many steps to make it perfect and only those who are in the business know all the techniques. Its cost also depends on this, it is not a simple material like others, but must be treated and need the right skills to do so. The price is therefore justified, because we will have a product complete and well done, that with the passage of time will always remain the same.

In Italy we have a good market for leather goods, the important thing is to contact the right store. Florence Leather Market is a leader in leather goods and accessories, all its creations come from laboratories in the heart of Tuscany and are handmade by skilled and qualified artisans. From these products you recognize the real ones made in Italy and we will have with us an accessory that will last a long time.

Now that we have seen all the features of these accessories, we can evaluate whether to buy a backpack or a leather bag. It may be a good idea for both us and to give a gift to one of our loved ones.

The leather market of San Lorenzo is the most important in the city of Florence: it is set up every day, except on Sundays and Mondays, from Piazza San Lorenzo to Via dell’Ariento and around the Church of San Lorenzo, in the historic center of Florence. It is an ancient market that, even today, is among the favorite stops of Florentines and tourists who are in the city. In addition to the souvenirs, in the San Lorenzo market you will find clothes and a wide range of leather accessories, such as wallets, bags and belts.

The history of the San Lorenzo leather market

The Central Market of San Lorenzo was born on the appointment of Florence as Capital of the Kingdom of Italy; with the arrival of the institutions, around 1865, the city of Florence thought to completely renew the historic center, inspired by the style of the largest European capitals, especially Paris. With the growth of the city and, consequently, of the population, the old market, Il Mercato della Paglia, was no longer able to provide the necessary supply to all the inhabitants, so it was decided to give life, in some of the most dilapidated neighborhoods, The Herb Market in Sant’Ambrogio and the Market of San Frediano, now no longer present.
The idea was immediately successful but the space in San Lorenzo was still insufficient to extend the area dedicated to the market, so a labyrinth of small alleys was created between the city walls that surrounded the historic center of Florence and between some of the poorest and most battered neighborhoods.

For the improvement of the area and for the creation of a sort of large stand under which to enclose the market, the city of Florence, taking advantage of the flourishing period it was going through, hired the architect Giuseppe Mengoni, one of the most sought after in Italy at the end of 1800. The new building, with a clear Florentine appeal given by the base with Renaissance features, was inaugurated, in 1874, with the International Horticulture Exhibition, while the market, in a structure far from what we know today, only took over the following year.

In the last years of 1800 the merchants decreased drastically and the internal arrangement of the market became what we know today: around the Central Market Square, shops and stalls offer visitors goods of all kinds: from food to leather accessories, while the typical local carts offer the opportunity to stop and enjoy the authentic local delicacies.
Still today, as it happened in the previous two centuries, the city life develops around the market, between social and cultural relations, always respecting the ancient Florentine traditions.

The Florentine leather goods

Among the highlights of the San Lorenzo market in Florence there are all the items produced by Florentine leather goods: every day tourists and curious take assault the stalls eager to buy elegant accessories, born from the hands and passion of the best Florentine craftsmen.
Florence, on the other hand, is one of the main European cities with regard to the production of leather and the creation of clothes and accessories sought after, by virtue of their history and their style, all over the world.

As you approach the San Lorenzo market, you can feel the scent of freshly worked leather in the air: don’t stop, however, at the first stand! We advise you to breathe the atmosphere of the Florentine market, immersing yourself between people and typical objects and doing, in this way, a jump back in time. Among the most sought after goods there are, without doubt, the bags, the result of the wonderful Tuscan leather goods: from those with classic and elegant lines to the most modern ones, from small clutches to large bags, from the most elegant bags to those suitable for everyday life, to the ball market of San Lorenzo every woman can find the bag that suits her style and needs.
A similar argument applies to accessories: between wallets and belts, passing through leather nails, every curious will find a garment that will not be able to resist. All the products born from the hands and knowledge of the artisans of Florence Leather Market, a leading company in the leather goods and accessories sector, are Made in Italy: the local manufactory gives daily life to accessories that express, in every inch, the excellent quality of Made in Italy. These are mainly bags, briefcases, wallets and accessories that over time do not get ruined but, on the contrary, earn a value that has no price: with use, the accessories acquire a vintage and unique look, impossible to recreate in any way.

The leather of the Tuscan district is among the best in the world: after a long and accurate treatment process inside the Florentine tanneries, after 13 phases, the leather becomes a real luxury product, with immense value. Buying these products in the streets of the leather market of San Lorenzo means going back in time and being full of beauty and tradition, culture and authentic values.