These are my new ‘Louis Vuitton leather’ VDS binders with 30mm gold rings and full length back wallet pocket. I have kept the successful pocket constellation which I have in my undyed binder and also in my Janet Leather personal binder. Many credit card pockets on the inside front and back covers and secretarial pockets behind them. If you want to know the history behind the leather and see the process of them being made, have a look here and here.
The journey to these has been a long one. When Petra first posted the new leathers in the Facebook group I was not enamored. But then they started to grow on me. And with me, I often grown more attached to something when the love comes gradually than when I fall in love instantly. I went to Rotterdam with the aim of having a binder made from either the red or the green. When I received swatches I took those three swatches with me everywhere the first day because I loved them so much. I couldn’t decide on colours. But then I found Janet Leather and the rest is history.
Still, these kept haunting me. I knew that this leather is limited in quantity so I decided to order a trio. Why is it limited in quantity? Well, according to the supplier (and this may or may not be true), it comes from a Famous French design house – Louis Vuitton. Big fashion houses often sell overruns or offcuts onwards. Dolce & Gabbano often do this with their leather, as do certain tanneries in Sweden. The leather has had a second hatch added to it, creating a crosshatch/saffiano effect and making it impossible to recognize or sell as LV leather. This is the same as labels being cut off or scored on seconds of designer clothing and accessories before selling them further. It is really tough, low maintenance and easy to clean. And I knew that, supposedly being designer leather, it may not be available for all time as it is probably leftovers from one of their big runs. So I bit the bullet. And then they arrived about a week ago and the courier company could not deliver them to me as I was at work. So I had to walk kilometers (literally) to collect them from the depot. The parcel was heavy as Petra had returned most of my Traveler’s notebook covers and refills. Then I was too busy to even open the parcel for a week. But now I have time, so without any further ado…
I still come back to look at these. Love!!!
So lovely!
These look absolutely stunning, I especially love the green one. But I do have a question, I thought Van Der Spek had sold out of gold rings? Has Petra found another supplier?
Petra got gold rings in about a month ago – just before my binders were sent to me. Good timing!
The green looks amazing. But they look thin in width, and I like Franklin Covey pages.
You can always ask to have the binder widened as these are custom made 🙂
Janet, is there stiffener in these? I like this leather, it looks very hearty. I wish Petra could get navy blue!
I always have Bontex in my binders which is a happy medium between stiffener and no stiffener.
Janet, as always this is a great post! The leathers are all beautiful in the pictures but I am curious – do you have a favorite?
Interestingly, no I don’t. Which is why I ended up with three. I liked the green best to begin with but when I saw the other leathers I liked them both equally as much. I am not normally a yellow fan but this one is lovely and because of the graining, it won’t show marks like yellow normally does. The one that made me smile most when I took it out of the box was the yellow. And the one which caught my eye was the red. And of course the green is divine as well!
These are so gorgeous! I’ve never heard of Van Der Spek before, might have to look them up! Thanks for sharing!
These are so beautiful!! 😮
The green is lovely.
ohhh the red one.. i may have to bite the bullet
Thank you for posting the pix! I am very undecided about this leather, so it’s useful to see it close up. Originally I thought I wanted the leather in a standard with bigger rings. But for the time being I’m sticking with my custom and my black Touch Me, and gone for a writing case!