Ostrich leather is one of the most sought after leathers in the world for producing luxury handbags and when you experience it for yourself you'll understand why. The soft, supple leather feels gorgeous to your touch, the delicate pattern of the quill follicles is incredibly chic and when you hold the bag in your hands you know it'll look this good for years, as ostrich leather is renowned for being exceptionally strong and durable.
Designers prize ostrich leather for the qualities that make it so wonderful to work with: the strength and suppleness of the leather which adapts to any design and easily takes the shape of a handbag; the attractive polka dot texture of the quill patterns that give warmth and depth to the leather, and add light and shade to its coloring; the receptiveness of the leather to the dying process which means that it can be tinted with an infinite range of colors; its durability and resilience which produces luxury bags of exceptional quality.
Ostrich leather is also very prestigious. By wearing an ostrich bag you demonstrate that you are a woman of taste and discernment prepared to invest in the best quality there is. One of the reasons that ostrich is one of the more expensive leathers, besides its exceptional quality, is that it is much in demand, by top designers of world famous fashion houses, for their luxury goods and there is only a limited production in the world. Because of this designers often reserve the use of ostrich leather for their best and most exclusive designs making these bags more desirable than ever.
Every stylish woman needs a luxury ostrich handbag in her collection. It confers an air of sophistication and quality and though more expensive than python, it is an investment that really does last for years. A genuine ostrich bag lasts on average 30 years, as opposed to the 5 or 6 years that a calf-skin bag usually lasts. Ostrich skin is also naturally water resistant, so is also far more hard-wearing than crocodile or python.
Historically ostriches have been farmed in South Africa for generations, originally to supply the European and American fashion markets with ostrich feathers in the second half of the 19th century. After the fashion for huge hats lavishly trimmed with flowing ostrich plumes faded with the First World War, the ostrich farms were reduced to producing meat for the local market, until they developed a flourishing tannery and once again they found themselves suppliers of prestigious goods to the luxury fashion market, this time when the leather became much in demand by fashion designers in the 1970s. In the 1990's ostrich farms started up outside Africa, though the centre of production remains in the Oudtshoorn area of South Africa, and competition has maintained prices at reasonable levels. However ostriches, due to their very nature, can never be mass produced, so their leather will always remain expensive and prestigious.
The most desirable part of the ostrich skin is the crown, the back of the bird, where its neck meets its body, which is patterned by the characteristic quill follicles. It is these textured polka dots on the skin that make it instantly recognizable as ostrich. They cover only a third of the skin's area and are flanked by smooth, unpatterned skin, which, though it has all the same qualities of softness and durability is considered less prestigious in the fashion world. The price of the ostrich leather is dictated by the quantity of quill follicles it has and by the condition of the skin, which can be damaged by parasites, scarring or scratches. The best leather comes from birds aged about 10-15 months, which are full sized but are less likely to have suffered damage and whose skin is just the right thickness for making luxury goods.
Ostrich leather is considered an exotic leather, but unlike crocodile and python does not require any special CITES certification, as the ostrich is not an endangered species and has a long tradition of being farmed under sustainable conditions. This means it can be shipped more quickly and easily all over the world without any delays at customs.
Ostrich leather, as explained above, is very elegant and refined. It enhances the natural shape of the bag exceptionally well, adding its own chic appeal and prestige. However, this leather is also very expensive, firstly because high quality ostrich leathers are very hard to find and secondly because only about a third of each ostrich skin provides the quill patterns that are in demand for the most exclusive ostrich handbags.
We wish to create something really special for our customers but also would like to make these bags affordable for them to buy.
This is the reason why we have come up with a new line of handbags using fresh and innovative ways to showcase the beauty and natural texture of ostrich leather. We use the coveted crown leather with its characteristic quill follicle patterns for the principal parts of the bags and contrast it with the smooth and transitional sections of the skin to stunning effect. The smooth ostrich leather retains the same elegance and high quality typical of ostrich leather, but is less expensive than the skin from the crown of the animal.
This solution has proved successful for three different reasons:
we can make our ostrich handbags more affordable to buy without losing
- any of their excellent quality;
- these contrasts in texture give the bag itself a more dynamic styleand youthful vibe, which is appreciated both by women who like elegance and prestige and by girls who are looking for a really special bag that is also practical and trendy;
- using most of the leather from each skin, we can avoid wasting a large amount of skin which would otherwise, being unserviceable, be thrown away
Our customers can be sure of receiving a very prestigious product at a more favorable price.
However, if you would prefer to order an ostrich handbag made completely from the ostrich crown leather (the most precious and expensive section of the ostrich skin, characterized by the presence of a big quantity of small follicles), we will gladly make it to order for you without any problem, but we will have to adjust the price according to the amount of leather used.
We suggest that our private customers visit our Gleni Boutique www.gleniboutique.com where they can find some wonderful ostrich handbags in stunning new colors, available for immediate delivery (as they don’t need any Cites certificate).
All our handbag models made with python skin can also be produced with ostrich skin, but, because of the elevated quality of the leather and the difficulty in getting it (we only use the most prestigious ostrich skins to hand-make our handbags, which is entirely tanned here in Italy by the most famous Italian tanneries that serve many of the best Italian houses of fashion), except for the bags available in our Boutique, our ostrich handbags are exclusively made to order.
In our Craftsman Laboratory you can order whichever ostrich handbag you like best but, before confirming your order, we suggest you let us know the color you would like your item to be made from, because not all the colors are available all the time. It may happen that some particular colors are temporarily unavailable and you may have to wait a longer time or that the leather in that color is finished and has to be re-ordered.
We ask wholesalers interested in buying real ostrich handbags to buy at least 2-3 ostrich items in each color chosen (the quantity obviously depends on the dimensions of the handbags ordered but it should cover a total of 3 ostrich skins).
After having chosen the models and the colors you like most, please send us an e-mail with your complete order and we will immediately prepare you the proforma invoice with the total sum to pay, indicating the availability of the ostrich skin in the chosen colors.
We are at your complete disposal for your every further request concerning our ostrich handbags.
