![]() Select grade will be limited in imperfections such as skinning cuts and holes. Game hides are graded dependant on size and imperfections. Our game hides are primarily from wild game and some domestic game ranch sources. Brown: 30, or twitter.Deerskin Hides, Moose Skin Hides and Elk Skin Hides My simple goal was to create the best quality I could find and then figure out what the price would be.” “Then they would see what it cost and figure out if they had to lose something. “One of the valuable things I learned when working with Disney was that they would order prototypes with all the bells and whistles - no limits,” he said. “If this had a Gucci label on it, it would be $7,000,” he said of a weekender that sells for $2,250. While many people might balk at the price tags on Borlino bags, Ratliff said the amount is justified given the quality and the fact that the pieces are designed to last a lifetime. “He loves the functionality and quality of the bags,” Ratliff said of Decker. ![]() I could see it as a great bag for a weekend in the mountains, or as a carry-on.”Īmong the early fans - and someone Ratliff is using as a model - is Eric Decker, wide receiver for the Denver Broncos. The look is more rugged - something a man will feel comfortable carrying. “They aren’t the ordinary bag you’ll see at the airport. “This is something special,” said Nancy Sagar, public relations manager for Neiman’s at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. “While it was sitting out waiting for him to come back to pick it up, someone saw it and wanted to buy it.” So Ratliff delivered another one to the store. ![]() ![]() “We had a customer come in for a bag that retails for $2,850,” he said. The Denver Neiman’s has had several trunk shows of the bags and Ratliff said he’s gratified with the response to the line of about 15 different styles, which sell for about $700 to almost $3,000. The tannins occur naturally in bark and leaves of plants and are processed in bark mills and then used in the leather tanning process.Īfter more than a year of research, prototypes, travel, meetings and focus groups, Ratliff’s Borlino bags are on shelves in stores such as Neiman Marcus in Denver, Fitzgerald’s Men’s Store in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Kilgore Trout in Cleveland, Ohio. The process makes the leather expensive, because the hides are stretched on frames and immersed for several weeks in vats of increasing concentrations of tannins. The company also uses leathers that have been vegetable-tanned, an old and environmentally friendly tanning method. Other key components? Strong, solid hardware an understated lining and perhaps most important, rich, durable leather for the exterior and trims. He simply set out to make the best bag he could, with all the features he wanted: outside pockets deep enough for a man to put his hand into, compartments for an iPad or laptop computer, and zippered areas to stash a passport or other valuables. And he was well aware that such heavyweight brands as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo and Burberry already were occupying prime counter space in high-end stores. Ratliff didn’t let the fact that he’d never been in the luxury leather-goods business deter him from jumping in and researching the industry. With that thought, his latest company, Borlino, was born. “And I figured other guys would like the same type of thing I do.” ![]() “I’m a rugged, outdoorsy guy,” Ratliff said. “I thought I could make something better than what was out there. “I’ve just grown tired of poor-quality products with a big logo slapped on them- and feel that I’m not alone,” said Ratliff, 50, who lives with his wife and children in Castle Rock. That was all after Ratliff was in the Marine Corps.īut it wasn’t until the entrepreneur wanted a travel bag that his quest became personal. He has also been an artist, an inventor and started a 3-D animation company. He spent most of the past two decades in retail design and apparel manufacturing for such big companies as Disney. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menuĭarrell Ratliff has never been shy about jumping in and creating a product when he sees the need for one. ![]()
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