One — Strip
Back to the bare hide
The upper is cleaned with a leather cleaner until nothing sits between the brush and the grain. Crust calf arrives undyed and semi-finished, so what happens next is the first colour it has ever taken.
The House of Mario Minardi
The Art of Patina
Undyed crust calf, coloured by hand in layers. No two pairs leave the bench the same.
What patina is
A radiant layer produced over time on a surface such as leather. Oils meet the grain, the texture changes, and what is left is depth — a record of use that highlights the quality of the hide underneath. The better the leather, the more opulent the result.
- Undyed crust calf, semi-finished
- Colour built in layers, never one flat tone
- Depth that deepens further with wear
The artisan's shortcut
Left alone, leather takes years to arrive there — collecting dirt, water, sunlight, body oils and conditioner. Waxes and dyes reach the same place during construction, in weeks rather than seasons.
- Applied while the shoe is being built
- Waxes and dyes in place of years
- Condition and wax monthly to carry it on
The chart
We can patina almost any colour you could imagine. These are the ones we are asked for most — from black, red and green through to electric blue and tan. If yours is not here, write to us and in most cases we can match it.
Ask about another colourNero
Oxblood
Bosco Green
Electric Blue
Tan
Cognac
Burgundy
Navy
Olive
Whisky
Because every pair is hand-painted, each shoe carries its own hue and polish, and the colour will differ slightly from any photograph. That is the point of it rather than a caveat.
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Two — Base
Your colour, laid down
The base coat goes on by hand, thin and even, and is left to take. This is the tone you chose from the chart — though it is not yet the colour the shoe will end up.
Three — Depth
Darker at the edges
Darker dyes are worked into the welt, the toe and the heel — the places a shoe would have aged first. This is the step that separates a patina from a dyed shoe, and the one that makes no two pairs the same.
Four — Seal
Conditioned, then waxed
Leather conditioner, then a neutral wax to close the surface and bring up the shine. From here it is yours to continue: condition and wax about once a month and the finish keeps moving.
Choose a colour
Patina is applied while the shoe is being made, so it begins with the same conversation a commission does. Tell us the colour you have in mind, or bring something for us to match.