A5, Personal and Pocket Mia Caras in Epoca Gold.
Now that all the lovely new Mia epoca colours are out (red! green! orange! purple!) it may seem like a boring choice to go with good old gold. But I did it for several reasons. Firstly, I love this type and colour of leather in all my leather items. Secondly I love Mulberry Darwin leather and this is the closest I have ever found to it. Thirdly, I wanted a complete set of the same model and colour binder.
Looking at them you can see that the colour and texture of each of these binders is slightly different. This is an inherent characteristic of natural leather. Each animal is different and skin from different parts of the body has different textures. Also, as a natural leather item is used it gains a darker patina from exposure to air and natural oils from being handled. My A5 has been the most used of the three.
I can definitely feel a difference between the texture of my new Mia Cara and my old ones. It looks the same but the feel is different. I am not sure whether the tanning or treatment process is different but it is lighter and smoother, even though it has a heavy grain. Very like the difference between the old Mulberry Darwin leather and the new Natural Vegetable Tanned Leather (NVLT). I much prefer the older leather but that does not mean I don’t like the new leather or that there is something wrong with it. It is just personal preference.
All in all very happy with it!
A small aside – in order to get all three binders in the shot in the only light place in my flat (by my desk), I had to stand on my desk and take the photos. My desk is next to the window and I had my back to the window to get the best pictures. I only thought afterwards about the fact that I was in my underwear at the time. My neighbors must have gotten a real eyeful! Luckily I live on the third floor. The lengths I go to for my binders and my readers, ha ha!
