Believe it or not, I actually spent about 14 years of my career working in the leather goods business, for an Italian manufacturer who had a small office in NYC to service American clients (mainly mid-to-higher end fashion companies like Banana Republic, J. Crew, Tory Burch, etc). I did product development and design, mainly of belts, but also small leather goods like wallets, pouches, keychains, etc.
We generally didn't deal with exotics like Ostrich, crocodile, etc., largely because the process of importing them into the US is a nightmare (you have to deal with fish and wildlife services, and they frequently would get held up by customs), but we had a showroom on 5th Avenue with all kinds of leathers from the top tanneries in Italy, and I was able to travel there a few times to visit suppliers, tour the factory, etc. Italy traditionally has some of the best leather tanneries in the world, although other countries have caught up to a large extent.
I think I still have a few calf hides in storage somewhere, but I've never figured out what to do with them.