All Aligata products are handmade in a small, traditional workshop located nearby Warsaw (Poland, Europe).

The leather used to make my products comes from Poland. Threads come from the UK.

Please, take a moment to read some interesting facts about the leather types used to make Aligata products.

Take a look at the picture showing all three leather types together.

This is NOT faux leather nor PU leather nor eco leather nor any other kind of not-leather. This is beautiful, natural, bovine leather.

All Aligata products are handmade of full grain (please, consult leather glossary here), premium, thick bovine leather. Full grain means, that the surface of the leather is not artificially corrected in any way. You can tell it by many small imperfections, glitches, little scars on the surface. Generally, if you see a leather product which surface is perfect, this is 99% not natural grain.

Take a closer look. You will see on Aligata cases the lines, where the cow bent its neck!

You can sometimes see (if you get really close) very small holes in the leather. These are the places, where horseflies bit the cow's neck! Seriously!

Each Aligata case is unique. There are no two exactly the same!

You can tell it is full grain, premium bovine leather by:

• Exposed edges - you can see the structure of the material.
• Full grain surface retaining little scars, imperfections, glitches.
• Great feel when you touch it.
• Wonderful smell of raw leather.
• Extreme durability.
• Weight - it is really heavy (since it is thick).

Nude Beauty leather

Premium, thick, genuine bovine leather. It has very elegant, innocent, clean look.

Its surface is full grain, which means that the original structure of the surface has been retained (as opposed to corrected grain leathers, where surface has been torn off and printed artificially).

It is undyed at all. No toxic chemicals have been used during the vegetable tanning process.

Nude Beauty leather is very vulnerable to dirt and liquids. You have to be careful not to stain it with coffee or any other colorful liquids.

Nude Beauty leather will get darker and softer when used regularily. It will additionally darken when exposed to sunshine.

To make the leather softer, darker and more stainproof, you can treat it with neatsfoot oil, mink oil or leather grease.

Nippon leather

Premium, thick, genuine bovine leather. It is softer than Nude Beauty and has more artistic look.

Its surface is full grain, which means that the original structure of the surface has been retained (as opposed to corrected grain leathers, where surface has been torn off and printed artificially).

It is delicately dyed, its color delicately oscylates between brown and orange. No toxic chemicals have been used during the vegetable tanning process.

Nippon leather is vulnerable to dirt and liquids. You have to be careful not to stain it with coffee or any other colorful liquids.

Nippon leather will get darker and softer when used regularily. It will additionally darken when exposed to sunshine.

To make the leather softer, darker and more stainproof, you can treat it with neatsfoot oil, mink oil or leather grease.

Black Espresso leather

Premium, thick, genuine bovine leather. It is very uniform and elegant. This leather is also very durable. A safe choice for both business and home use.

Its surface is full grain, which means that the original structure of the surface has been retained (as opposed to corrected grain leathers, where surface has been torn off and printed artificially).

It is black dyed through. No toxic chemicals have been used during the vegetable tanning process.

Thanks to its color Black Espresso leather is immune to dirt, it is stainproof.

Black Espresso leather will get a shiny surface and become softer when used regularily.

There is no need to additionally treat this kind of leather in any special way.

This leather, because of the dye, may leave stains on bright objects (paper sheets, white shirts etc.). It may also leave stains on Nippon or Nude Beauty leathers.

Almost all Aligata products come with small text "aligata" logo embossed with nice font. See the example product.

There are no magnets in Aligata products.

• My products are not perfect. Each unit has its own, unique pattern of imperfections. They include little scars, stains, glitches, discolorations. Because the whole process is handmade (the leather is cut from the templates) my cases not always fit perfectly - some units may be rather snug, some other - rather loose.
• Please, be careful when using my cases. In some of them (iPad cases, iPad sleeves, iPhone sleeves) there is one open edge and your device may slip out and fall down.
• Please, do not try to insert into Aligata case a device, already in another case (plastic silicone or other). You can stretch Aligata case too much that way and then it may be too loose to hold the device alone. The only exception to this is an iPad 2 wearing smart case and put into Aligata envelope or Aligata sleeve.
  Of course this precaution does not apply to Weekend Bags.
• Please, do not expose Aligata products to extreme temperatures. They may cause the leather to expand or shrink.
• Please, do not expose Aligata products to very humid environments. They may cause the leather to expand or shrink.
• If you expose Nude Beauty or Nippon leather to the sun, they will darken.
• Black Espresso leather, because of the dye, may leave stains on bright objects (paper sheets, white shirts etc.). It may also leave stains on Nippon or Nude Beauty leathers.

• Please, take a moment to read the article on Nippon and Nude Beauty leather treatment: http://aligatacom.posterous.com/79244932
• You may (but you do not have to) also treat Black Espresso leather with mink oil or neatsfoot oil or some other gentle leather treatment.

• All orders are shipped from Poland with FedEx.
• Shipping cost to the US, EU and Canada is $14.90 (FedEx International Economy).
• Usually I have a few units of every product (except those marked as pre-ordered) in stock.
• Products marked "pre ordered" are not available in stock. They have to be made first, then shipped to the Buyer. The whole process may take up to 2 weeks.
• If I do not have the ordered item in the inventory, I always contact the Buyer and offer several options to choose from (waiting for the item to reach the US inventory or shipping directly with FedEx or cancelling the order and full refund).

All Aligata products come with 3 years warranty.

1. Great craftmanship

   Posted by Les, MS on 20th Mar 2012

   I bought the espresso case 2 years ago for my first iPad. Glad to say that it looks and feels the same as it did 2 years ago when I bought it. It has a very elegant look, and is thick in the corners where it needs to be.
   
   My kids have dropped it several times and my iPad never experienced the slightest dent or scratch.
   
   Just got the new iPad yesterday and will be getting this case for the new one too.
   
   You just can't beat handmade craftmanship.

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2. Very sturdy

   Posted by Jamie, NY on 23rd Oct 2011

   I knew it would be sturdy, but when I got it in my hands, I was surprised how strongly built it is.
   It is a bit heavy, but when you see the thickness of the leather, you'll know why.
   Nothing bad happens to my iPad when it is in this cover.

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