Meet Borlino, a luxury brand that uses the best Italian leather in all of their products, from travel bags, duffels, purses, backpacks and messengers to travel accessories and beautifully handcrafted journals.
We were fortunate enough to be sent a few products to test out from the folks at Borlino this holiday season, from both their bag collection and their gorgeous leather journals. Let’s take a look at some of the items they offer for both men and women.
A beautiful hand-crafted leather duffel bag in Onyx / Walnut constructed of the finest Italian Buffalo and Vachetta leathers. This travel bag is perfect for carry-on or weekend getaways.
Balzano Italian Leather Shopping Tote
This beautiful black soft Italian leather tote from Borlino has a fun lava red trim along the straps, which is one of the unique features that jumped off the page when I first discovered the brand.
This lightweight tote (awesome for travelers) is handmade in their studio in Italy from the very softest and finest calf leathers. Here’s why we love this bag.
First, the bag is so neutral and flexible that it can be used for an elegant work event or even for every day use. It is also very lightweight. This tote has a large expandable interior compartment and a side zippered interior deep pocket for smaller secure items such as phones and wallets.
The expandable center strap allows the tote to expand to carry larger items, which is great when you have a weekend getaway in mind and want to toss in a book or your iPad. This fabulous luxury piece comes in Lava Red, Lava Red with Luna accents, Capri Blue, Luna White, Pompeii Grey and Onyx Black with Lava Red accents.
Inside, there’s plenty of room as noted above and we love that there’s a magnetic button that keeps your purse shot. Nothing frustrates me more than a purse that takes forever to fasten, buckle up or zip.
They use high quality Italian Calf Leathers and its interior lining is made from a Polyblend Fabric.
Vachetta Messenger: Walnut
Hand-crafted of the finest Italian, vegetable-tanned Vachetta leather, the Borlino messenger bag has a roomy interior with a zippered pocket, two multifunction pockets, and a built-in compartment for your iPad. An outside zippered compartment allows for easy access on the go.
The lining is a combination of Pig skin and fabric and there’s an interior zipped up compartment for more valuable items like your laptop. There are two interior deep, easy-access leather pockets, one interior tablet compartment, an exterior zippered compartment (we applaud this for travelers) and a hidden magnetic closure.
We think this is a great choice for business travel, especially with its leather, adjustable, padded shoulder strap and an additional canvas, adjustable shoulder strap included. The length is around 16.25 inches and the height is around 3.75″ — in other words, ample size for a business trip or every day use.
We love the richness of the Italian leather, one of the best we’ve seen in our exploration of leather messenger bags.
Note: the folks at Borlino are cycling through some new models so not all the messenger bag models you see on their current site may be available in 2018 and beyond, however they are adding new pieces all the time, many of which are perfect for both personal and business travel.
Vachetta Italian Leather Handmade Journal: Terra
First of all, we love love love their handmade leather journals. I’m a huge fan of old world style bags and journals, which is one of the things that really drew me to Borlino.
Below, the Vachetta Italian Leather handmade Terra journal is one of their handmade Italian leather journals with Italian paper. The paper is actually stitched into place by hand, contains 120 pages and is sized at 9 inches by 5.5 inches, perfect for travel notes and journaling.
The leather is so soft and so rich, you’ll want one in several colors. And, what’s great is that they offer a few choices such as a lighter tan, a deep elegant brown and black (Onyx).
Vachetta Italian Leather Handmade Snap-Close Journal – Terra
The Terra is is another one of their Italian leather journals with Italian paper. Like the previous one we just detailed, the paper is stitched into place by hand. It also contains 120 pages but the size is just a little smaller at 8.5 inches by 5.5 inches. Some of their journals can be personalized and this one is on the list, making it a great option for a holiday gift or frankly, for any occasion.
Behind the Scenes at Borlino
We did a little digging because we wanted to know more about this elegant luxury brand. They tell me that Borlino‘s design process is thoughtful, meticulous, and never rushed. They actually design the exterior of the product starting with pencil sketches — how cool is that?
Many of the finer details cannot be seen in the final product such as gluing threads and letting the glue briefly set before being hand-tied, and then having it glued again to the surface. Thereafter, they still apply additional taping to ensure stitching will never ever come loose. There’s a lot of hand stitching throughout the process as well.
If you’ve purchased cheaper leather journals or bags, may have experienced loose stitching after using them for a short period of time. Borlino also takes pride in their leather quality.
Unlike pigment-printed leathers that many luxury leather companies use, when vegetable-tanned leather is scratched you simply rub the leather and the coloring comes right back; the scuff will disappear before your eyes. I remember this from buying stuff directly in Italy — this reality is often the case with high quality leather goods I buy there but not the case with cheaper leather items purchased in the states. Borlino offers a lifetime guarantee as well.
Their prices are reasonable for the quality, so check out their site for more information and for photos of their latest offerings, from travel bags, briefcases and accessories to purses, messenger bags, accessories and journals.
Borlino’s Commitment to Giving Back
One other thing to note. They support and help Love 146 which is an organization whose mission is to end child sex slavery and exploitation. Head on over to Borlino’s website for more about this partnership and to purchase any of their items. Two thumbs up! We love this brand.
Also, be sure to check out our Lifestyle Products section, as well as our Gift Guides and reviews of fashion/style brands.
Other Articles You May Like:
- Exploring Abruzzo, a Hidden Gem in Italy
- Customized Luxury Leather Journals from Epica
- Khombu Waterproof Footwear for Traveling
- Luxurious Leather Jackets from Page Thirty
- Gretchen Christine Bags, Elegant and Fun for Travel
- HButler Travel Totes for Traveling and Charging Your Phone
- DODOCase Cell Phone Covers and more to give your phones an elegant look
- 5 Ways to give your Phone an Elegant Look
- Dine in a Museum at the Trattoria Machiavelli
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
