A python piece, treated well, will outlast its owner. The material is durable, supple, and increasingly beautiful with age — but only if the basic rules are kept. These rules are short, and we repeat them to every new owner.
Keep it dry.
Python leather is water-sensitive. Contact with rain, seawater, or spilled drinks should be blotted immediately — not rubbed, which will lift scales. If the piece is fully soaked, dry it slowly at room temperature, away from direct heat. Never use a hair dryer.
Keep it out of direct sunlight.
Sustained sunlight will fade the dye and dry the skin. Store the piece in its dust bag in a cool, ventilated space. Avoid stacking it beneath other bags, which will flatten the scales.
Condition annually, not weekly.
Once a year, apply a light reptile-specific leather conditioner — a single thin coat, with a soft cloth, working with the grain of the scales. Do not use conditioners intended for smooth leather; they are too rich. Do not condition more often than annually; the skin does not need it, and over-conditioning will make it tacky.
Handle scales with the grain.
If you wipe a python piece clean, always wipe in the direction the scales sit — from the head of the bag toward the tail. Wiping against the grain will lift scales and, over time, cause them to curl.
Expect variation.
Python is not uniform, and should not be. Over time, the scales will settle. The colour will deepen slightly. The bag will take on the memory of how you carry it. This is not damage. It is how the material ages.
If something goes wrong.
If a scale lifts, do not pull it. Let us know and we can advise on repair. Most issues we see are easily corrected in the atelier. We offer a lifetime service relationship with every piece that leaves us.
