Hmmm looking closely at the CCH photo I still think it's marquetry - the lemurs look slightly raised which won't be the case if it's entirely painted? I believe the black portions are painted however, as I noticed in the store that the black parts of the lemurs were shiny. It could be that it was too challenging to have so many smaller pieces of leather on satin leather so they opted to paint the black parts to keep to larger leather pieces?
LOEWE x Suna Fujita
- Thread starter loewebunnyw
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I received the Taqbin tracking number already! I think there's a good chance I can score this bag!! Haha.
The Tokyo SA is working at the pop-up store at Isetan Shinjuku this week - the pop-up just opened an hour ago and she shared a photo of a lemur shearling bag displayed there, and immediately once the pop-up opened up it was sold. Super fast!
I'm pretty sure it's not marquetry! Sharing more pics so you can investigate yourself. But when I was looking at it and feeling it, the lemurs were glossy, raised and had ink printer jet lines rather than a distinct difference between the marquetry and wallet if that makes any sense.
Not all the CCHs are printed though! The photo of the penguin CCH that @QuelleFromage shared in this post looks like marquetry! (Lmk if you think otherwise) The otter plain cardholder also was definitely marquetry, so I think it depends item to item.
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Telltale sign of marquetry is if you see a distinct difference in the grain of the leather between the image and the item! There is also usually a distinct line that is easier to identify and feel irl. Also unfortunately, in recent years because the quality of the marquetry hasn't been the best, sometimes the gap between the marquetry and the item is larger. Best marquetry was definitely on the Totoro items.
Just because it's detailed doesn't mean it isn't marquetry! If they really wanted to, they could definitely add more intricate marquetry like on the panda hammock's trees and the HMC Turniphead coin cardholder. Also good marquetry does not need supporting stitches, so just because it doesn't have stitches doesn't mean it's not marquetry. Something new with the marquetry in this collection is the addition of these printed/painted? details on the leather that add texture. I think it's a nice detail and adds some tactile fun~ But I think this might be their excuse to move into printing things which I'm not happy about.
Sharing some photos of the Calcifer coin cardholder I use now for reference! The penguin CCH in this post has a pretty good photo showing the distinction as well. Hope it helps show the difference a bit!
My mini panda puzzle is here, and she's very wrinkled 
The lack of quality is really disappointing, I'm super bummed. I will return and maybe consider picking up a panda SLG, but this satin calfskin is really deterring me. It's much worse than I imagined 
The lack of quality is really disappointing, I'm super bummed. I will return and maybe consider picking up a panda SLG, but this satin calfskin is really deterring me. It's much worse than I imagined 
Where are you located? Munich still has the Panda hammock. I saw it yesterday, it really is gorgeous and the additional lining with the pandas is just sooo cute, but I already have a hammock and the compact is too small for my taste (Love a medium bag.).may i know the location of this bag?
The also had the Flamencos, puzzles, charms and the Christmas baubles.
I agree, I don‘t think the lemur coin card holder is marquetry. My SA thinks it is, but if its marquetry you see the border of the pieces even when it is tiny pieces, don‘t see any there. One reason I decided to not buy it. Better save for something else.
The tails on my lemur tote bag are also painted/printed, but you can feel that it is a bit elevated (due to the paint?).
However, many pieces from the HMC pieces already had painted parts instead being all marquetry.
Btw. the shiny calfskin an the tote actually is pretty nice. Like it more than the satin calfskin (my calcifer puzzle came in satin calfskin, pretty stiff), the shiny calfskin is soft and pliable. I will take some better pics in better light later.
About the satin calfskin, I know many people don‘t like it because of the wrinkling. I think if I love the design of the bag I would nevertheless keep the bag. Another thing I was wondering was whether if it will give some specific effect after some use. Perhaps it gets a special look. After all leather lives with use also. Excited to see therefore how everybody's bags turns out after some time. I haven‘t used my satin calfskin puzzle often enough to see any changes with the leather, yet.
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I finally got a chance to go to a store with a variety of Suna Fujita pieces (btw the new de Bijenkorf Loewe has the panda hammock too if someone is in AMS), and am getting confused by the satin calfskin. The HMC blueberry one has a waxy top layer that I could smooth some light blemishing out when I received it. It also softened from stiff rigidity after a day of use but still holds its structure.
Then I got a deep aubergine one bc of the color and that puzzle’s leather feels so different from the blueberry. But yesterday I wasn’t convinced the Suna Fujita penguin mini isn’t just calfskin - it didn’t have the waxy feel, felt thinner and much more pliable but maybe bc it’s thinner it can undulate a little? It had no perceptible wrinkling (maybe the size?) compared to what I’ve seen in the grey bear or green panda ones and didn’t have the same satin calfskin shine. Maybe the satin calfskin term has just become a catchall for Loewe for any calfskin they’re doing some sort of treatment to
Probably… The leather from the blueberry Calcifer puzzle feels very thick to me, perhaps the thicker pieces crinkle more?
I tried with photos, but it is so gloomy here the light is still bad.
First two are for the marquetry of the lemurs. Body is marquetry, tail surely painted.
This one shows the shiny calfskin in better light, actually it does also crinkle, but it doesn‘t bother me here. However, I remember the wrinkling on the bear puzzle really does not look pretty, especially for a new bag. Perhaps my perception depends on the bag style. In some styles it does not look so bothersome while in other it does…
Here upstanding with the blueberry puzzle from the HMC collab. I think I have to do closeups. The shiny calfskin does look a bit glossier while the satin one looks matte.
I think the nature of the puzzle tote being collapsible makes wrinkling normal, my mushroom one does the same and it doesn’t bother me being soft and matte leather.
Even if it’s gloomy there, great pics!
Mushroom one?! Did you get the red white one? I love that one, would have ponder getting it if I wasn‘t getting the lemur one!Yep! A miss sized puzzle organizer fits it perfectly to support the bottom when I’ve got my laptop
I LOVE it! That is a great idea with the organizer, I will check mine, too, as I am planning to use the lemur tote as a work bag! I guess it does not flip around so much with the organizer? I saw a Tiktok of a dude carrying a Macbook in it and it looked like he carries bricks in it. Can‘t wait to take mine out, but have to nanospray it first today!
Yeah! With the variety of inserts you could probably find one stitched with a thin felt pocket to hold your laptop upright at 90’, mine was an off the shelf amazon one. The laptop sits diagonally rather than vertical but the main concern without the organizer was having the laptop unevenly weighted around the bottom of the bag, corner jutting here or pushing out some awkward way on the sides.
I love your take on this! I agree, it's probably best to stay positive about the satin calfskin because in some cases I think it's more suitable to a style, like the hammock for example. I know everyone loves a Loewe slouch but I actually love both the structured and slouchy versions of the hammock evenly. Also considering many of us are inevitably obtaining satin calfskin items, we should be a bit more happy with our purchases (but still boycott Loewe for items with quality drops).
I think we just also need to make sure to change our mindset around caring for and storing the satin calfskin moving forward, or any stiffer calfskin for that matter (i.e., knowing how to condition the leather, preventing pressure marks, etc.). The reason why I think the mini Panda puzzle @incredibellle received is of such poor state was because it wasn't packaged properly during shipment, causing all these unnecessary bends and folds. It also doesn't help that the edge design doesn't adapt well to the dynamic nature of the puzzle 😕
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I think the satin calfskin finish changes depending on the color of the item! From my in store and other purchases and it varies greatly with each new color/style. So for example all the black lemur puzzles might feel one way, but then the black regular puzzles in satin may feel another way. Sometimes each item within the same style varies slightly, but that's not as common in my experience.