Miss Estelle

by iMakeGuernsey

High Quality Custom Handmade Leather Purses and Handbags | Rustico

Rustico’s commitment to quality extends far beyond words on a page. Our attention to detail is unmatched in the industry of leather journals and begins even before our initial product designs leave the drawing board:

All of our leather is purchased from tanners in the US. Colors and tanning finishes are specifically designed by us – for us. The leather we use on all of our leather products is Top Grain Cowhide leather and in most cases is thicker than what our competition uses. Working with thicker leather makes production more difficult, but the end result is a product that is very durable and which will not rip or tear with use and age.

Our leathers are designed to have a weathered and aged patina. Some of our pieces have scars and other natural markings which we tastefully incorporate into designs and which improve the appearance of your leather journal over time.

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The paper used in our leather journals is a thick-weight hand-torn deckled edge paper. In an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, we use either post consumer recycled paper or a cotton rag blended paper, both of which are excellent for all types of writing or drawing.

Rustico is an artisan based manufacturer where all of our products are made to order – not sitting on a shelf collecting dust. Each piece is unique and made by skilled hands bearing many years of experience. While we offer a substantial catalog of standard products online, we still possess the ability to produce smaller quantities of unique and highly custom leather products as well. Please bear in mind that all of our standard products can be modified to meet our customer’s needs.

The first journals I created drew admiration and applause by friends and family who all wanted a leather journal of their own. After significant interest from a few local ski resorts and boutique stores in the area, I knew I had found a niche for high quality handmade leather journals.
Today Rustico ranks among the top manufacturers of handmade custom leather journals in the world and is one of the leading e-tailer of custom leather journals online. Our products can be found on the internet as well as across the country on the shelves of bookstores and boutiques, as well as restaurants, resorts and spas of all sizes.

by amanda farah

Tips on buying a good quality antique desk

Antiques go in and out of fashion. Antique desks, for example, became less popular when computer technology eclipsed more traditional writing methods. However, people soon realised that no computer furniture can ever match the beauty of an English Regency pedestal desk, or a Victorian mahogany bureau. With cumbersome desk-top PCs now largely eclipsed by compact laptops, antique desks are more in vogue than ever.

If you are looking for a beautiful piece of antique writing furniture in Cumbria, there are several dealers specialising in antique desks from various periods. These can be very valuable. Evidently, prices will vary depending on age, condition and rarity, but even Victorian desks can fetch good money today. Only last year, a Thomas Brooks rosewood cylinder desk, made in the 1860s, sold for almost £34,000 at auction in Alabama.

Antique desks, like antique dining tables, are functional pieces of furniture and some have been better cared for than others. Cumbrian furniture dealers look for several things when determining the value of a writing desk or bureau – the first one, obviously, being to see if it’s genuine or not. Reproduction antique desks are often made from thinly veneered plywood, which is easy to spot. However, some reproductions are more true to the originals, using genuine dovetailed timber rather than plywood. To carry off the deception, some are distressed to make the piece look older.

However, there are many ways to tell a genuine antique desk from a reproduction, starting with its overall appearance. The functional nature of antique desks in Cumbria means that even the best preserved will have signs of wear-and-tear. The first place to look is the drawer linings, which should be made from a timber such as oak, mahogany or cedarwood, and dovetail jointed. They should also bear signs of use – ink stains are a good sign of authenticity. The desk surface should also have tell-tale signs of bumps and knocks. Remember, a writing desk was a valuable and ageless piece of furniture, often in use for 100 years or more. However well restored it is, this character will show. Put another way, if an “antique” desk looks new, then it’s probably a reproduction.

Another thing Cumbrian dealers look for in antique desks is the quality of the wood and veneer. In the 18th and early 19th century, good quality timber was widely available, which reflected in the quality of the desktop and drawer fronts. In addition, veneers were cut more thickly and had more attractive figuring than those seen today.

The most valuable antique desks are those where high quality timber has been used throughout, and restoration has been achieved in a sympathetic manner. Leather top desks are particularly sought after. Because of their functionality, most antique desks seen in Cumbrian auctions have been restored at least once. To be truly valuable, an antique desk should have been sympathetically restored using traditional methods such as beeswax and turpentine, or French polish. Modern acrylic varnishes and resins will detract from the value, though they can be removed with care to allow traditional restoration.

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