Flo Blog — nubuck

Thank you to Derek Gregory from Castle Cary who temporarily "stole" a selection of our handbags to make this beautiful watercolour painting. Derek accomplished this with his U3A painting group from the Caryford community hall in Somerset. Please look up what the U3A are all about, they are very active in this part of the country. One of our team Helen Tracy volunteers teaching at a U3A writing class. It really is a great way to learn. Well done to all at U3A!!!!

Well, it has been just over 3 weeks since the Florence Leather Collection shop opened on Castle Cary, Fore Street, and what a period this has been.   I originally had the idea of starting a fashion business when I lived in Milan, Italy with my family following my husband's posting there. I have always been a sucker for luxury, quality handbags and would often spend my teenage years wandering around Paris (where I was born) admiring the famous brands of Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Lancel etc. Milan reignited this passion and I soon found the places selling fashionable and stylish...

Where did the handbag come from?

It seems nowadays no woman can go without a handbag to stow away everyday items from the iconic iPhone or iPad, make-up, purses or wallets and of course the house and car keys. The range of collections on the market from the great fashion houses of Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel and Mulberry lure woman from all over the world to part with their money. However, the handbag has a long history and humble origins.

How do you know real leather?

Leather used in the manufacture of handbags comes from a variety of animal skins, for example; cowskin, pigskin or deerskin, to produce a range of processed leather based materials. Generally, the hide is processed using chemicals in a large vat after which it is then split by removing the top layer which is the best quality. Depending on the process the leather is then categorised as; full aniline or sauvage, pull up aniline, semi-aniline, pigmented, nubuck (also called chaps, stonewashed or suede) and bicast leathers (coated leather).