Leather padfolios are an elegant and sophisticated way of keeping your professional documents and most important items, well organized and in one place. Often used so that you have everything ready for an important professional meeting or similar.
- SKETCH - DESIGN - INSPIRE - Does your life revolve around your creative passions? Do you want the freedom to create when ever and where ever you happen to be when inspiration strikes? Do you love the feel and smell of leather?
- SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED ORGANIZER FOR… Artists, designers, architects and creatives.
- PERFECT - Sure there is room for a small laptop or tablet for the digital creative, but this isn't designed for the board room but the drawing room. And since the whole world is your studio you'll love the carry strap and hooks. Carry it under you arm like a classic padfolio or throw it over your shoulder like a messenger bag
- DIMENSIONS: Exterior is 13.6" by 12.2" and about 2" deep. Inside the padfolio will comfortably fit a standard 9x12 sketchbook. The accordion pocket will fit a 9"x12" laptop, the zippered pocket will fit a 6.75"x9.5" tablet. The slit on the writing side of the padfolio will fit a slim clipboard. The other side has 18 pen loops.
- NEW STRAP DESIGN & MATERIAL! (This listing is for the leather padfolio and strap only. All other contents, devices, tools and accessories are shown for display purposes only).
The leather material helps them be highly durable, as well as giving them that desired appearance. But what if you want your leather padfolio to be of a slightly different color?
Whether you want to darken it or add a different leather color to it, you can do so by dying it. It might seem like a daunting task, but it’s not that difficult at all.
It’s also a great way of adding a personal touch to your padfolio so that it’s truly and uniquely yours. The item being a padfolio makes no change as to how you go about the task, as ultimately, you’re simply going to dye leather.
Contents
Before You Get Started
Before you dye the leather padfolio, you need to prepare for the process, by ensuring a few different things. Be warned, dying leather can be tricky, and it takes some practice before you’re able to get a smooth result.
There are also different ways in which you can go about it, but the one we’ll guide you through is one of the easiest.
But back to the preparation. Before you get started, here is what you need to do:
- Ensure the room is well ventilated:The fumes from leather dye products aren’t lethal in any way. Nevertheless, it’s never healthy to inhale them for a prolonged amount of time, and it’s highly recommended that you make sure the room is well-ventilated. Alternatively, you could wear a small mask over your mouth and nose, so that you’re slightly protected.
- Make sure the padfolio is made from leather suitable for dying:Not all leather can be dyed in the same way. For example, if the padfolio has already been pre-dyed, it will probably be coated in a finishing wax, which will make it a lot harder for the new dye to penetrate and settle. If the leather, on the other hand, is 100% top-grain, it will absorb the dye with perfect ease. However, it will be less smooth, as the surface will have many more imperfections and marks.
- Choose and prepare the leather dye:When it comes to choosing the leather dye you will use, there really are plenty of options available.However, if you’re new to dyeing leather, we recommend you also get a leather dye reducer. Why? Well, the more coats of dye you apply, the better chances you have of achieving a smooth coat and correcting any mistakes. So reducing the dye to make it weaker, is a pretty good trick!
- Wipe the leather clean:This will ensure no dirt or imperfections get in the way of the dye!
- Put on gloves:Trust us, if you don’t wear gloves, your hands are going to become stained for quite some time.
How to Dye a Leather Padfolio: Step by Step
Once you have everything ready, it’s time to dye the leather!
Here is a step by step guide, so you know exactly what to do:
- Dip a piece of cloth or sponge into the leather dye, and then use it to rub the dye into the leather of the padfolio. Make sure you’re rubbing it in a circular motion until every last bit of the leather has been covered.
- Leave it to dry completely.
- Apply a second coat of dye, this time by rubbing it in back and forth strokes, that go diagonally across the entire surface. (You can rub it in another pattern if you wish to, but this is the way to achieve the most natural leather look.)
- Leave to dry completely.
- Apply a third coat of dye, in the same way as the second coat, but in the opposite diagonal. This is to ensure that the leather has been covered by the dye in every direction so that every grain is absorbing color.
- Leave to dry completely.
- Apply a finishing coat. These can be bought alongside the leather dye. The finishing coat will avoid the padfolio from staining whatever it comes into contact with, and it seals the color in.
- Leave to dry, and it’s done!
Tips and Tricks to Help You Dye a Leather Padfolio
As we mentioned, it takes a little practice before you can dye leather with smooth results. Luckily, a few imperfections just make the leather look more weathered and authentic, so it shouldn’t be an issue!
Nevertheless, just to help you do as good a job as possible, here are a few helpful tricks and tips that you can apply during the process:
- When you first start rubbing in the dye, the cloth or sponge will be full of dye. Make sure you don’t apply too much pressure, or it will create a visibly darker spot. Rub in the dye lightly, and then increase the pressure as the cloth or sponge has less and less dye. This will help keep the entire surface more or less even in intensity, and will avoid any stand-out spots or stains!
- If you notice that the area you’re rubbing isn’t getting fully covered in the dye, reload the cloth or sponge! It’s important that every grain of leather absorbs as much dye color as possible, in order for the result to turn out well.
- As for the size of the circles or strokes when rubbing in the leather dye, try to use consistent distances between the overlapping and re-applying of dye. Again, this is to help keep the entire surface as even as possible!
- When dyeing leather, you should be working on top of an area that you don’t mind staining. (So make sure you protect the table or surface you’re on!) That way, you should be able to apply the dye to the edges of the padfolio, without having to worry about staining underneath!
In Conclusion
Dyeing a leather padfolio is just like dyeing any other piece of leather, and it’s a great way to personalize your professional folder!
Although the process is fairly simple, it takes some practice to get a smooth and even result, so we recommend you weaken the leather dye in order to be able to apply more coats until you’ve reached the desired color effect!
- SKETCH - DESIGN - INSPIRE - Does your life revolve around your creative passions? Do you want the freedom to create when ever and where ever you happen to be when inspiration strikes? Do you love the feel and smell of leather?
- SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED ORGANIZER FOR… Artists, designers, architects and creatives.
- PERFECT - Sure there is room for a small laptop or tablet for the digital creative, but this isn't designed for the board room but the drawing room. And since the whole world is your studio you'll love the carry strap and hooks. Carry it under you arm like a classic padfolio or throw it over your shoulder like a messenger bag
- DIMENSIONS: Exterior is 13.6" by 12.2" and about 2" deep. Inside the padfolio will comfortably fit a standard 9x12 sketchbook. The accordion pocket will fit a 9"x12" laptop, the zippered pocket will fit a 6.75"x9.5" tablet. The slit on the writing side of the padfolio will fit a slim clipboard. The other side has 18 pen loops.
- NEW STRAP DESIGN & MATERIAL! (This listing is for the leather padfolio and strap only. All other contents, devices, tools and accessories are shown for display purposes only).
To dye the leather, you have to apply the dye onto the padfolio with a cloth or sponge, by rubbing it in circular motions. A second and third coat is recommended, in different diagonal strokes, so that the grains of the leather absorb the color from as many directions as possible!