I LURVE THEM <3 Each of my dogs has one, and they're absolutely amazing. Both are completely custom, which makes me love them even more, since I helped create their design!
Gavroche's is a Neurodiversity collar. Extra thick black leather (LOVE LOVE LOVE this leather!) with an awareness ribbon concho flanked by a pattern of alternating square spots and colored rhinestones. It was lined in suede when I got it, but I admit that wasn't a great decision on my part. I finally removed the suede this year, and it's still super smooth under the suede and I think I love it even more now. I did ask, and they said if I change my mind and want suede on it again, I am welcome to send it back to have suede put on. Not sure if I can part with it that long though lol. It's also tapered at the buckle to allow for smaller hardware AND so a Boomerang collar tag can fit on it. The largest Boomerang tag barely fit when the suede was in place, so this colalr is THICK.
I need to get better pictures of the collar itself.
Logan's is based off their "Traveler" design but has some changes. It's Doctor-Who inspired so I call it my Timey-Wimey collar lol. I love this thing so much. It's a martingale made with TARDIS-blue (well...pale navy?) bridle leather. This means it's not as soft as Gavroche's collar, but it works super awesome for what I need/use it for. It's more glossy than Gavroche's and seems to be more waterproof (Gavroche's holds up well in water, but it takes longer to dry because it absorbs water to a degree...this one doesn't even seem to get wet.) It's also tapered to allow for smaller hardware. It has three conchos and a random assortment of dome and hammered brass spots. LOVE. I have about a million pictures of this one.
Feel free to browse my photostream for more collar pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72832953@N03/8239841585/
I adore that this leather isn't dyed all the way through. I like the brown edges A LOT. And the color hasn't rubbed or scratched off at all, despite not being dyed through.
It's just now developing a really, really nice patina on the brass spots. I've been waiting impatiently for this to happen, since I love the patina...especially on a steampunk collar!
Make sure you order the gear appropriate to your needs. If you order cat collars expecting super nice heavy leather, you're going to be disappointed, but that's your own fault for ordering cat collars. If you want a nice latigo, order a regular leather collar, and NOT a specialty leather collar. Specialty leathers are meant for special occasions, not for wearing around 24/7. It's stupid to get mad at a collar maker for your own lack of judgement in ordering.
Gavroche wears his collar 24/7 and it's holding up very, very well. It's almost 2 years old and definitely doesn't show its age. Logan only wears his to work, but that because he's naked at home since I can't mess up his ruff (he still has showing to do!). But his is almost a year old and looks brand new, and I have no doubts it would hold up very well with 24/7 use. Becca did make sure I understood that it was a stiffer, totally different kind of leather compared to latigo, but I like it and am fine with it, and it's the EXACT right color, so I had to get it (I had to request it specifically after she posted it on Facebook once).
Becca is also great to work with. I took FOREVAR to order my collars because I had to go through designing them. I think Logan's was in design stages for about a year. I was originally going to design a dalek embroidered collar, then a "Doctor's Gallifreyan Name" embroidered collar, but decided I wanted something more durable and more classic in the end. Ben even went so far as to digitize a couple embroidery patterns for me so I could see what, approximately, the embroidery would look like...and then I didn't even get embroidered ones in the end.
I also have two ecolead slip leashes and love them. My brass-hardware one is the only one I trust to use on Gavroche when he's around cats. It's heavy, but it's SOLID.
Ella's Lead collars are also notorious for bleeding into the coats of dogs. I can name a handful of people who have told me or posted about how once Ella's Lead collars are wet, they bleed.
I've never had this problem, and one of my dogs is white and the other has a mostly white neck. The only bleeding I experience was with the suede lining, but they tell you ahead of time not to get suede lining if you want to use the collar in the water. And it had to be SUPER wet to bleed - rain simply wasn't enough. I'm talking swimming in the pool or chasing the hose - thoroughly wet. Without the suede lining it doesn't bleed at all.
So, TL;DR - DO IT. I love Ella's Lead, they have awesome customer service, awesome stuff, and I doubt I'll ever get fancy leather collars from anywhere else.