Donne Tempo - Gift Guide - Bolzano
Bolzano Bags
(Black Messenger Bag $128.00)
by Jacquie Kubin
Find me a woman who would not appreciate a good handbag and I will be amazed. The quest for the perfect purse has eluded me for 35 years of purse buying. They are too big, too small. Made too cheaply or so expensive it was the purse or the mortgage payment.
Bolzano Handbags come to the rescue. Remarkable quality, fine grain leathers, sturdy construction. Not only are they well-built bags, they are available at accessible prices.
Bolzano
Handbags are made for woman that travel, whether
from home to the mall or around the world. My
personal favorite, perfect for my everyday use,
from a business meeting to my child’s karate class
is the Bolzano Messenger Bag. Inside pockets for
easy access to things you need, an outside pocket
to tuck travel documents, or just your cell phone,
glasses and keys, that you need to reach easily.
“We have gotten so many compliments on that bag, it is great for the busy woman,” said Leylani Cardoso, owner and designer of Bolzano Handbags. “It is great for a traveler because you can wear it across your chest and have easy access to your key items – passport, ids, cell phone, car keys, while you can store your less accessible things inside. Mom’s love this bag because they can easily carry this and lug the baby bag and it works equally well with all attire and can be worn from day to night.”
The overall dimension of this bag is slightly less than a piece of paper, however it is deceptively roomy inside, though you might want to opt for a slim line wallet. Plenty of space for the things you need everyday. A longer, adjustable strap allows the necessary give to wear it over your shoulder or across your chest.
And now I know what I want for Christmas, a Messenger Bag in black and Valentine’s Day, one in red.
As I am quite impressed with the Bolzano handbags, I asked designer and owner Leylani Cardoso what makes a bag a good buy.
by Jacquie Kubin
Find me a woman who would not appreciate a good handbag and I will be amazed. The quest for the perfect purse has eluded me for 35 years of purse buying. They are too big, too small. Made too cheaply or so expensive it was the purse or the mortgage payment.
Bolzano Handbags come to the rescue. Remarkable quality, fine grain leathers, sturdy construction. Not only are they well-built bags, they are available at accessible prices.
“We have gotten so many compliments on that bag, it is great for the busy woman,” said Leylani Cardoso, owner and designer of Bolzano Handbags. “It is great for a traveler because you can wear it across your chest and have easy access to your key items – passport, ids, cell phone, car keys, while you can store your less accessible things inside. Mom’s love this bag because they can easily carry this and lug the baby bag and it works equally well with all attire and can be worn from day to night.”
The overall dimension of this bag is slightly less than a piece of paper, however it is deceptively roomy inside, though you might want to opt for a slim line wallet. Plenty of space for the things you need everyday. A longer, adjustable strap allows the necessary give to wear it over your shoulder or across your chest.
And now I know what I want for Christmas, a Messenger Bag in black and Valentine’s Day, one in red.
As I am quite impressed with the Bolzano handbags, I asked designer and owner Leylani Cardoso what makes a bag a good buy.
Q and A with Bolzano designer Leylani Cardoso
Donne Tempo: When and why did you start
designing handbags?
Leylani Cardoso: I began to recognize that there is a need for a comfortable bag that could go anywhere; this was just not available on the market. So I made it my business to create a bag for the woman travel sector and it was an instant success. It was only available overseas, but I started getting calls and we entered into the Domestic market.
DT: What were some of your concerns in developing the bags?
LC: We are creating for an audience that is hard to please. They know Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada. We started out to set ourselves apart by creating bags that are uniquely beautiful, yet functional. What sense is it to have a beautiful, large bag that you cannot find anything in? So we design “smart bags” with convenient pockets for cell phones, credit cards, keys and pen/pencil holders. Today’s woman travels, has a family, is a professional. She is busy and needs to have a bag that supports her, not that causes her trouble because she can’t find what she needs.
DT:
When is a bag worth spending more for?
LC: They have gotten very good at creating lower priced imitations of the more expensive bags, but that is the difference. It is an imitation. A better quality bag is well constructed, made of quality leathers, well connected handles that are comfortable to carry in hand or over the shoulder.
DT: What are some things we should specifically look for?
LC: The bottom construction on a bag is very important, particularly the larger bags like the Fiore. If the filler, between the leather and the lining, is too thick, it will mark the purse. If it is too thin, it will not hold its shape and the bottom of the bag will sag. The stitching on the bag is also important. The bag should be double stitched at all the stress points – where the handle meets the bag, around pocket openings, at zippers. Also notice the color of the stitching. In cheaper bags the interior stitching will usually be black. If there are leather reinforcements around a pocket, they might be black with black stitching, even if the bag has another color. In our bags, the leather inside and out matches and so does the stitching. Another important thing to watch for is that every quality bag should have a standard SPI, or stitches per inch. Ours is 8-9 stitches per inch and every good bag should have that standard.
DT:
The Fiore and the Backpack both have zipper
closures. What are we looking for in a zipper?
LC: All of our zippers are YKK zippers, the most expensive, well-made zippers in the world On the backpack, notice that it is a two-way zipper to make it more convenient to open and on the inside, at the sides of the bag are flaps that allow the bag to open, but make sure your items do not fall out.
DT: Is there anything special coming from Bolzano Handbags?
LC: The messenger bag is now available in black and brown, but for Valentines Day there will be a limited edition red bag that will come with a heart charm attached to it.
Leylani Cardoso: I began to recognize that there is a need for a comfortable bag that could go anywhere; this was just not available on the market. So I made it my business to create a bag for the woman travel sector and it was an instant success. It was only available overseas, but I started getting calls and we entered into the Domestic market.
DT: What were some of your concerns in developing the bags?
LC: We are creating for an audience that is hard to please. They know Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada. We started out to set ourselves apart by creating bags that are uniquely beautiful, yet functional. What sense is it to have a beautiful, large bag that you cannot find anything in? So we design “smart bags” with convenient pockets for cell phones, credit cards, keys and pen/pencil holders. Today’s woman travels, has a family, is a professional. She is busy and needs to have a bag that supports her, not that causes her trouble because she can’t find what she needs.
LC: They have gotten very good at creating lower priced imitations of the more expensive bags, but that is the difference. It is an imitation. A better quality bag is well constructed, made of quality leathers, well connected handles that are comfortable to carry in hand or over the shoulder.
DT: What are some things we should specifically look for?
LC: The bottom construction on a bag is very important, particularly the larger bags like the Fiore. If the filler, between the leather and the lining, is too thick, it will mark the purse. If it is too thin, it will not hold its shape and the bottom of the bag will sag. The stitching on the bag is also important. The bag should be double stitched at all the stress points – where the handle meets the bag, around pocket openings, at zippers. Also notice the color of the stitching. In cheaper bags the interior stitching will usually be black. If there are leather reinforcements around a pocket, they might be black with black stitching, even if the bag has another color. In our bags, the leather inside and out matches and so does the stitching. Another important thing to watch for is that every quality bag should have a standard SPI, or stitches per inch. Ours is 8-9 stitches per inch and every good bag should have that standard.
LC: All of our zippers are YKK zippers, the most expensive, well-made zippers in the world On the backpack, notice that it is a two-way zipper to make it more convenient to open and on the inside, at the sides of the bag are flaps that allow the bag to open, but make sure your items do not fall out.
DT: Is there anything special coming from Bolzano Handbags?
LC: The messenger bag is now available in black and brown, but for Valentines Day there will be a limited edition red bag that will come with a heart charm attached to it.