It seems like quite some time since we we wished Judie happy birthday with the promise of a very special gift — a one of a kind Orbino Padova case for her iPad 2. Thanks to the generosity of Orbino’s owner Michael Ventre, we were able to make arrangements to get Judie a case made of the leather of her choice. Judie’s choice? No surprise … Crocodile! The MSRP on this unique case is $689, and that’s for the “standard” handmade by Italian artists, crocodile skin version.
It has been a while since production on the case first began, but Judie’s Padova for iPad 2 is not the standard Orbino case. She picked the crocodile leather color and the actual skin (from a selection of photographs). Then, after agonizing for several days over whether she should get something brightly colored, Judie decided to go with something timeless, a chocolate-brown. After that, production began in Italy. The case was custom-made by artisans ,and the amount of care and detail that went into it is remarkable.
Well, the case is finally done and on its way to Judie. The Padova for iPad 2 was actually featured in a New York Times article a few weeks ago, but we will have the first hands-on review up shortly. What follows are some images of the actual production process used when making Judie’s case.
(Oh, and the first image in this post… that’s MY Orbino Padova case!!) 🙂
1) Preparing the cut of the flap: a special sharpened die is positioned perfectly in the center area of the skin to get a perfect pattern for the flap.
2) Cutting: the hydraulic die cutter (known as a “clicker” or “trancia” in Italian) is then lowered down, emitting several tons of pressure to make the perfect.cut.
3) Edging: The flap is then coupled with hand-stained leather and edged by hand with a special lacquer. This step takes several hours as the lacquer is left to dry and recoated. A total of four coats go on to seal the leather and to give a smooth, feathered edge.
4) Preparing the body of the case: The body of the case is made out of hand stained, vegetable tanned Tuscan leather. The leather is form cut and positioned by hand. Everything has to line up perfectly so that the iPad is centered properly in the case.
5) Folding: The body of the case is then folded to the shape of the iPad. Again, positioning is critical here. The fold has to mirror the form of the iPad, so that the case will be a perfectly tailored fit.
6) Hammering: Once positioned and sewn together, the leather is hammered to emphasize the folds in the leather in preparation for hand stitching
About Orbino’s new Padova case for the iPad 2.
Orbino cloaks your iPad 2 in this sleek hand engineered case. Our artisans carefully make this case in premium leather throughout, and close it with several dozen hand stitches.
Special features include:
A protective flap with invisible magnetic closure
A flap doubles as a viewing pedestal in both horizontal and vertical orientation
A Brushed metal home button
Orbino’s patented removable spring-loaded typing stand in polished brushed metal for typing at the ideal angle
An Optional removable shoulder strap for easy transport
A Unique form-fitting design stitched entirely by hand in Italy with premium high tensile waxed thread
And much more.
The Padova for iPad 2 cases start at $209 . Details and color/with the choice of four beautiful leathers; ostrich and crocodile are available, as well. You can order yours from the company site.
