Production on Judie’s One-of-a-Kind Orbino Padova Case for the iPad 2 Begins

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Brown croc

Last month 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 significantly discounted 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.

Judie’s birthday case is not the standard case. This case is being made especially for her, and she even got to pick the crocodile leather color of her choice, rather than the brown that Orbino offers. After agonizing for several days over whether she should get something brightly colored, Judie decided to go with something timeless, a chocolate brown. Judie was offered the choice of one of the two hides above; she opted for the lighter, left-side skin.

Production has begun, and Michael has been kind enough to forward some initial images from the factory. As work progresses we will have more images to share so that you, Judie and I will be able to follow along every step of the way.

What follows are some images of the surrounding area, along with the first shot as work on the case begins.

Museo

The Museo Nazionale di Archeologia di Napoli: The workshop is located on a side street off of Naples’ archeological museum which holds many Roman artifacts from nearby Pompeii.

Street

The side street that the Orbino workshop is located on. It is a street with many small workshops — woodworkers, metalsmiths, engravers, antique restorers. Our shop is located in a small courtyard at the top of the hill.

Door
The doorknob at the entrance to the workshop

Croc img

And finally we got word that the skin for Judie’s case had arrived at the factory and Orbino’s artisan, Ciro — the artisan who handles the special orders — is ready to begin work!

More pictures to come as the process unfolds; looking at them has made me want to visit the factory in person!

 

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.

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.

1 Comment on "Production on Judie’s One-of-a-Kind Orbino Padova Case for the iPad 2 Begins"

  1. I’m excited! THANK YOU again! =D

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