many options, choose best
A characteristic to watch for on Etsy, a region replete with copycats and low quality, is creativity and a passion for quality. I present to you W Durable Goods, a creative company passionate about quality and sustainability. Continue reading “Best of Etsy: W Durable Goods On Product Design”
Chromexcel is a massively popular leather right now. I asked Phil Kalas from Horween about Chromexcel and what makes it so unique and desirable on wearable products. Continue reading “All About the Famous Chromexcel Leather from Horween Tannery”
Why are we so easily satisfied with effortless work?
Buying products with fragile quirks Like rockets built by knee jerks
Foolishly profit berserk
Is cheapness cheap?
Only shortly will it keep before finding the trash heap
Building mountains not for mountain sheep
Where is the benefit?
Profit is squandered in quick pursuit of profit
You don’t have to be a prophet to see
Count the cost!
Quickly both profit and product are lost
When details are ignored
like replacement cost
Buy well, my friends
Heirloom Leather is a one man Etsy store I have followed for a year now primarily because of the exquisite usage of vegetable tanned leather and tasteful industrial design stitching. His sense of leather fashion is among the best in the business, in my opinion. And as far as I can tell, quality is a primary focus. I have not had the pleasure of reviewing a product from Heirloom leather but one can tell quite a bit from the photos what a artisan Paul is.
Because leatherworking is such a personal expression I asked Paul about his background and what lead to crafting such beautiful products. Below is Paul’s articulate reply.
After building homes for over 10 years, I came to the conclusion my profession had vanished right before my very eyes.
Trapped in a 59 year old body possessing a 39 year old college degree, my prospects of competing with “young bucks” having newly acquired graduate and post graduate degrees seemed dismal at best (in the professional world). So I began to contemplate how “to reinvent myself”. Thus my journey to find a new occupation; hopefully one I would enjoy and one that could provide a living wage. So the more I contemplated my dilemma, I thought to myself “what if I could make a living doing something I love?”. What skill do I possess that I enjoy? Having developed an interest in working with leather many years ago and I just couldn’t stop thinking about how much I loved that hobby and what if I could produce something that was desirable by the general population. So began my experimentation.
The question was: “Is the craftsman/artisan dead in America today and if so can it be revived? The days of working with one’s hands seems like a faint memory of a history lesson sometime back; which begs the question: “Do people still do that sort of thing?” and “Is a product like this marketable through the internet?” I wondered if the idea of being able to own something that was created or reborn from the hands of a true craftsman had a magnetism that was infectious enough to induce people to buy.
So in July 2011, after much encouragement from my wife and friends, I decided to put a few of my accessories on Etsy, while working a full time job in a totally different industry. Then after several months of one or two orders here and there a surge in sales came in the Christmas season of 2011. My orders started to increased with each passing month. Then after about a year, my once part time hobby, blossomed into a full time career.
The feeling of knowing you were, personally, responsible for a work of art that is wearable and usable is truly rewarding.
I hope I am able to offer something that will not only be a treasure and an heirloom, but something that has usefulness and utility while possibly enhancing your professional image.
“God made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them”
Gen.3:21 ~MSG~
I am a one person shop operating in a smoke free environment. I create an artwork that I take pride in. My desire is that it will compel you to want to wear it and enjoy its functionality. I welcome your questions and comments.
The products I create in my shop are called “heirloom” because they should last you a lifetime and most likely will be passed on to other generations. The materials I use are genuine leather. These accessories are made from cowhide, and other fine leathers. Each personalized piece is individually dyed and each stitch is done by hand with a waxed braided cord. Every piece is different in some way; whether its from the grain in the leather or from the way it takes the dye.
The grain on the accessory is, in fact, the grain which occurs naturally. Our leather is not pressed into a mold. Thus, in some sense all other leather grain patterns are artificial. Heirloom Leather is 100% natural and therefore will sport unique and original markings. Even though we choose the best skins, there will be markings on the piece that may represent a brief encounter with a barbed wire fence etc..Please note that this is in a sense proof of its authenticity and uniqueness; not a defect. Thus one aspect of Heirloom Leather accessories that is essentially unique, is its choice of all natural grain leather.
Thank you for putting hard work into your craft, Paul. You are an inspiration to myself and others to be excellent craftsmen.
You can follow the new products that Paul releases on www.heirloomleather.blogspot.com since Etsy does not provide a way to keep up with new products from favorited stores.
Check out the Heirloom Leather Etsy store here.
Editors note: Etsy features are highlights of carefully selected stores that illustrate high levels of attention to quality and detail. The aim of these articles is to promote the excellent work of the true artisans on Etsy, as opposed to the mass of cheaply made goods easily available. To submit your store, email [email protected].
It’s been really fun to watch Basader get more traction as a relative newcomer in the hyper-competitive durable leather goods market. They are doing it with a combination of stylistic innovation, commitment to durability, and extremely competitive pricing.
Basader (Derived from Bas Jan Ader, a famous artist) is heavily driven by a mission to create lasting pieces and promote timeless design principles. All of their work is produced in our small studio located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn—where they laboriously hand-dye, cut, and assemble the pieces. Through experimenting with new techniques, materials, and finishes, they are continually trying to improve to offer truly “lifetime” products.
As two designers working within the fashion district in NYC, Elin (at the time, a Fashion Designer at Ralph Lauren) and Philip (a Web Designer and Ecommerce Manager), were increasingly disheartened by the disposable fashion culture. Thinking that it must be possible to create a brand focused on high-quality goods and timeless designs, Basader was born as a side project that grew beyond their greatest expectations.
Philip: Before I even met Elin, I was the typical bag consumer within the men’s category—looking for quality in all the wrong places. And while I wouldn’t flinch at saving my “nickels and dimes” to purchase a nice suit, I just assumed a leather bag was a leather bag—regardless of price. My first leather purchase (what I thought was an artisan quality bag), was made on eBay maybe six or seven years ago. So the story goes, it was listed by a very active eBay seller, who was supposedly having the bags custom made in a small town in India, and in the process “supporting a local community”. Buying into a heartwarming story, and admittedly, being quite thrifty, this was a win-win situation. I would receive a handmade bag while inadvertently supporting a small village located across the globe!
If I knew then what I know now, the bag was very likely made in a sweatshop in China–and this is a very common story across many, if not all marketplaces. The bag arrived weeks later, it smelled so bad, I was too embarrassed to bring it anywhere, and lasted a month before the rivets were shimmied loose during light use—disappointing to say the least (and worse, probably harmful to whatever “local” community I thought I was supporting). With so many high-quality bag companies, had I just spent a bit more, I could have ended up with a bag that would have been passed down generations. A disheartening and wasteful story, this has influenced our work greatly.
Philip: As a fashion designer, Elin brings a very unique perspective to our work, and together, we both have a sincere admiration for contemporary minimal design. From fashion designers like Heider Ackerman to companies like Shinola, we are admittedly driven and influenced by fashion extremes: deconstructivist contemporary designers; and small-town, American made companies–even Allen Edmund is a company of great revere.
Simply put, our aesthetic is driven by a love of fashion and art, and somehow, we stumbled upon a niche that lives at the intersection of rustic American styling and the refined English approach. At the most basic level, we admire leather companies like Shinola and Allen Edmund, that, against all odds, make some amazing work within the US—and both companies have found a way to create social enterprises, that feed back into the local community.
Philip: For us, it’s any hand-dyed leather good with a raw underside. We love a refined lustrous surface coupled with a raw underside—probably, we respect this look so much knowing how difficult it is to achieve.
But more, we love anything new.
Philip: While we love Herman Oak, we also use a lot of other American suppliers as well. And we do this because there are so many American-based companies that put a lot of love into what they do. Further, as major retailers inadvertently outsource to other countries, and suffocate American leather houses, we truly believe a renaissance is on the horizon (and we’re very grateful to be even a small part of this!).
A majority of bags in the marketplace are made in questionable working conditions—from mass-market “high-end” chrome-tanned bags to full-grain “looking” offerings, there are but a few American companies left.
BL: Finally, what is the most interesting thing you have learned about working with leather?
Philip: For us, leather is truly a fascinating material. We’ve experimented with various organic substitutes, from cork bark to tree-tap leather, but at the end of the day, there is no naturally derived material as durable and as timeless leather. And for such an omnipotent material, it’s amazing to think that so many people will never know what a real full-grain bag feels like.
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Keep an eye on this upstart company. I suspect we will see more excellent goods coming our way. Perhaps like this…
Shell Cordovan can be a mystery. It is fabulously expensive, relatively rare, and looks a lot like normal full grain leather. The question on many minds is “Is it worth it?” It’s a fair question worth some research. You get what you pay for, but what are you getting with shell cordovan products that makes them worth the extra scrilla? Continue reading “All About Shell Cordovan – An Interview With Horween Leather Co.”
Often I’ll be sitting somewhere pounding away on my laptop when I catch the flash of brown leather breezing by and subsequently get up and go chase down the confused owner. It usually goes one of two ways, they think I’m a weirdo and leave, or we talk leather for a while and I get a few photos.
This cool little bag is Jamin’s satchel for carrying his notepad, pens, iPad, Leatherman, and maybe even a slim book.
It was handmade (obviously) in Morocco and given to Jamin as a gift. I know some people who demand only the straightest of stitching and finest of construction and may turn their nose up at this unique piece, but I would not. How cool is leather hand-fashioned into a satchel by someone on the other side of the world? It tells a vague story about the realm outside our little world. There are other people who live different lives and have different priorities that make things. Chances are these profits fed a family.
I was somewhat surprised by how much one could fit in the satchel.
This is a great color that I expect will wear very nicely.
Even though some of the angles aren’t quite right the satchel will last quite a while. The stitching is heavy duty and well done. None of it was fraying. The leather was also quite heavy and supple.
Quite a deal for $60!
I met this interesting fellow from England (just moved) during a layover in Seattle. He had purchased this fairly heavy duty Ashwood Briefcase in England before moving to the US.
Amazon only had this variation. The price isn’t bad at $180. I only had a few minutes with the bag but I did get a good feel on the leather and it felt substantial. Couldn’t tell off the bat if it was full grain or top grain, but it was fairly thick.
Visually, the strap d rings seem like weak points. Personally I’m not a fan of the faux buckles, though they are faster to latch. They seem cheesy to me.
To enter to win a free Frank Clegg iPad Case (normally about $170) go like and share this image on the Frank Clegg fan page. The winner will be picked on the 26th.
I met a guy who bought this vintage Bosca beauty for $80 at a vintage store. Despite being 20+ years old the leather and stitching is in great shape. It could probably use some leather conditioner though. Keep your leather well conditioned if you want it to last a long time. Continue reading “In The Wild: Vintage Bosca Briefcase”
Keep in mind some of these brands do have lower grades. You get what you pay for, except when you do this.
Comment below to have your favorite brands included.
Here is how you can get $300+ shoes for a fraction of the price on Ebay. Continue reading “Top Tip: How To Buy Quality Leather Shoes At Huge Discount”
Has your lovely pup been begging for a lovely leather collar for Christmas? Here is your chance to make their wildest Christmas dreams come true, for the cost of shipping. Continue reading “Red Dog Leather Collar Give Away Contest – Nov. 5th through Nov. 10th”
Note: Australian residents only.
Cork Leather is offering one of these delicious bags for referring five or more your friends to their give away on Facebook.
Here’s how you do it.
Competition Terms and Conditions:
1. Information on how to enter forms part of the terms of entry. Entry into the competition is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions.
2. Entry is open to all residents of Australia, above 16 years old.
3. The competition commences on 30 October at 00:00 (AEST) and concludes on 31 December 2012 at 23:59 (AEST) (“Promotional Period”), or until the first 10 winners have been identified, whichever comes first.
4. To be deemed Registered, participants must have liked our Facebook page, connected with the Facebook application by clicking the ‘Connect’ button and invited at least 25 of their Facebook friends.
5. Participants will become eligible to receive their prize once at least 5 of the friends they have invited also register. The 5 registered friends must also be residents of Australia, above 16 years old, and they must have registered at a time after the friend invitation was sent.
6. The Promoter reserves the right to request winners to provide proof of identity, proof of residency at the nominated prize delivery address and/or proof of entry validity in order to claim a prize. Proof of identification, residency and entry considered suitable for verification is at the discretion of the Promoter. In the event that a winner cannot provide suitable proof, the winner will forfeit the prize in whole and no substitute will be offered.
7. The Promoter reserves the right to verify the validity of entries and to disqualify any entrant who tampers with the entry process, who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these Terms & Conditions of entry or who has, in the opinion of the Promoter, engaged in conduct in entering the promotion which is fraudulent, misleading, deceptive or generally damaging to the goodwill or reputation of the promotion and/or the Promoter. The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify a winner if the Promoter becomes aware that the winner and/or the winner’s entry is of a type described in this clause.
8. There are five (5) major prizes consisting of 5 different handbags with an average retail value of AUD $145. The Prize will be sent by Cork Leather to the competition winners when they have been confirmed.
9. The Prize cannot be transferred or exchanged, or be redeemed for cash.
10. Winners will be notified within 7 days of completing the competition requirements. Winners will be notified of their prize by email. Winners will have their names published on the Cork Leather website http://www.corkleather.com.au/
11. By entering the promotion, each entrant also agrees that the Promoter may use this information, in any media for future promotional, marketing and publicity purposes without any further reference, payment or other compensation to the entrant, including sending the entrant electronic messages.
12. All entries become the property of The Promoter.
13. This promotion will be advertised on Facebook and adheres to the terms and conditions set out in the Facebook promotion guidelines which can be found at:http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php
A two week business trip takes us to Chicago, where in the free time we walk the downtown arena in search of choice leather in the fashion corridors.
In summary, nought was found. Many leather bags were found, none were full grain leather, much less quality leather, all were far more expensive then they should be, and every single one was being sold as an excellent long term investment in quality leather (laughing out loud). Note that all of these photos were taken in supposedly high quality fashion stores.
Don’t fall for the fashion hype, even the goods on Etsy do a much better job delivering enduring quality for good prices.
My mental equation for value evaluation is:
It means that high cost items are good value as long as the quality and aesthetic levels are equally high as well. Note that his is how I personally value the worth of an item. Others may weight details differently and come to different conclusions. Also, there is an personal sense of style that greatly influences perceived value (i.e. Apple Laptops).
Both construction quality and aesthetic design are percentages subjective relative to the level of quality you expect from the product.
Lets see how this works out with a real product. Lets compare the Paul Stuart Duffel and the Coronado Americana Leather Duffel.
The Paul Stuart Duffell costs $847
construction
The Coronado Americana Leather Duffel Costs $749.
construction
design
I conclude that the Corando Leather Americana Duffel was designed and constructed with twice the care.
Lets apply the equation to the Paul Stuart Duffel: (.5+.5)/$847=0.0011 value
Now lets apply the equation to the Corando Leather Americana Duffel (1+1)/$749=.0023 value
Here we can see the mathematical expression of the quality with price factored in, making the Coronado Leather Americana Duffel twice the value with almost $100 less cost.
Enjoy…
