My latest project which I have just finished is a hand sewn leather ladies evening bag made from Black Patent Leather, with a Red Leather Motif on the front. This was one of those middle of the night good ideas when I couldn’t sleep, and was an experiment, There isn’t a customer, although several ladies have subsequently  kindly offered to look after it for me.

Pretty much all the bags I have made for the last couple of years are fairly robust. Their day time bags. I like to think they will last and as a consequence the closing mechanism is a short strap and a buckle, which does the job a treat and you would have to try hard  to break, but don’t take that as a challenge.

However I was sent to try some magnetic catches, quite elegant but with a downside. They fasten to the leather with two little prongs that push through and bend over which is a bit unsightly on the front of a bag, therefore you need to have something over the top to mask them. Hence the three feather design on the front, which now I have pointed out obviously you can see.  As any man, desperate to buy a present for his loved one at Christmas, will tell you black and red are a classic combination worn by every sophisticated lady, and as luck would have it I had some red leather left over.

The bag itself is fairly straightforward and non controversial, if I did it again I think I could improve upon the design on the front, and probably the colour scheme. When I edit the video in a few days have a look and see what you think. However a battle has raged over the strap. I do get a few visitors to my workshop and most of the time I receive nice, kind, and polite comments, no one questions the design. But for some reason this bag has caused arguments.

One school of thought says it doesn’t need a strap, keep it as a clutch bag. Another point of view is a short handle, a variation on that is a wrist strap. I made it with a shoulder strap with the lugs on the back of the bag, however another lady favoured the lugs at the ends. All very firmly held, and frequently expressed opinions. I just thought I was having an experiment not starting a war.

If you have any thought feel free to join in.

Tom