BE leather is used to make bags by Claudia Firenze

#46
I spotted a simple, but well made leather bag today, with outstanding workmanship and nice hardware, and since I've been looking for a red bag, I examined it and bought it even though I wasn't familiar with the designer. Once at home, I began to search for the maker, and found "Claudia Firenze" in several threads on TPF.

I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing BE leather. This bag is not the glove soft lambskin of some of my other bags, but it is very high quality leather, and it smells leather-y in a good way. Since people asked for photos (in posts that are several year old!). Here are some, including a close-up of stitching and hardware.

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BTW, I think that the designer name is Claudia, and she's from Firenze (which we Americans know as Florence, Italy). Calling her "Claudia Firenze" is a bit like saying "Hermès Paris," I think (not that I am comparing!).
 
#50
Tanneries do sell to various brands and there are so many different qualities of pebbled leather - I've gone through so many brands, types in my years of owning and selling handbags. I've been fortunate to have been around people who were really in the business of selling, designing and comparing leathers, hardware, workmanship of different bag brands. From what I can see, it does appear to be a thick, chewy leather with an even pebble. That type of leather does smell fabulous. It may or may not come from the same atelier. Without examining it myself (up close and "pursonal") I wouldn't be able to tell if the quality is the same. The interior however uses a thinner ply lining that I don't believe is ribbed silk (could be grosgrain), the zipper is a zephyr (as opposed to true hardware). The interior label is embossed (as opposed to an engraved hardware plate). It's those finishing little touches that demonstrate the workmanship that differentiates a bag that costs $200-$400 versus one that costs $500 - $1,000. Plus, you have the brand recognition, etc. If this person is just starting out ... I'm sure she will gain recognition. Like Minkoff and Treesje bags ... they started out with zephyr zippers, embossed leather logo labels, thinner ply lining and now that they are more well known, those things are moving towards the higher echelon materials as evidenced by the Fall/Winter bags and those from the Spring "line sheets" (that will debut starting in late March). And of course, as the brand gains recognition and the workmanship upgrades, the price also increases exponetially. I remember when a nice Kooba could be purchased new in the store for $200. Now, most of the large leather styles are $600+. Not heard of the Firenze brand before; they are nice. Thanks for sharing.
 
#51
bag-mania said:
I don't know anything about her bags and the leather, but there are a number of her bags on eBay right now.

http://search.ebay.com/claudia-firenze
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I just bought a black and off-white Claudia Firenze bag like the one that's on the E-Bay page. I bought it at T.J.Maxx in January 2011. It was $99.00. The regular price was at least 3 times that. I love my bag. However, the leather isn't the same type as the leather on my BE bag, although both are made of high quality leather.

Claudia Firenze bags have been around a long time and I've been shopping T.J.Maxx regularly for at least 15 years or more. I have bought a lot of handbags out of T.J.Maxx. They, along with Nordstrom Rack, are the best for handbags and at incredibly great prices. At my local T.J.Maxx, there are lots of Prada bags, for example.

I took my Claudia Firenze bag to my local luggage repair place and had some extra holes put in the shoulder strap, as the bag was too long for me. That seems to happen a lot on the Italian-made, cross body, messenger style bags.

My bag didn't come with the extra strap, like the one on the E-Bay page, to transform it into a handheld bag. It only came with the long strap for it to be worn cross body.
 
#52
I just enlarged the photo of that first Claudia Firenze bag on the E-Bay page and, although it's difficult to tell from the photo, I think mine is larger. Maybe that bag came in two sizes. Other than the question of the size, my bag is the same.
 
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