many options, choose best
Among my leather-loving circles there is a story of an iPad that was dropped during the ritual juggling act of unloading children from a car. The iPad (with its Saddleback Leather case) went flying (what scientists call a “small fling”) into the gutter. Continue reading “Saddleback Leather iPad Case Review”
The Saddleback Leather Passport Wallet is a handyman of full grain leather wallets. This leather wallet can handle a small notebook, a cell phone, a passport, cash, cards, and receipts. It’s got storage. Continue reading “Saddleback Leather RFID Shielded Passport Wallet Review ($70)”
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.
The Saddleback Leather Card Holder
Etsy has an overwhelming amount of leather goods, perhaps too much. Here is a selection of some of the better options on Etsy.
One of the excellencies of Etsy that larger leather companies cannot easily emulate is the uniqueness of each product since they are handmade. You can have a bag that is like none other. Of course this can have its drawbacks if the maker does not have a critical eye for quality control. A reputation for quality counts for quite a bit in the handmade world.
Peter, the CEO, CFO, CMO, CTO, and production manager at Bay Towne Leather USA (it’s a one man shop) responded with this thorough explanation when asked if he planned to expand his operations in response to interest from a large online retailer.
Hi TJ,
Nah, I just want to keep it a one man shop. Two at the most. I may be wrong, but it seems there’s a fine line between hand made and volume. When the large retailers become involved and want a piece of the ‘action’ so to speak, before long you’re right back to mass produced crap. There’s no other way around it…For instance, I can teach 5 people to hand stitch, and increase my volume, but I would be hard pressed to find 5 people who wanted to work that hard! LOL.
I could add lasers to cut out the leather, but it then becomes machine produced.
So, before i know it, I’m outsourcing my hand sewing someplace else… and I’m using machines to produce my goods.
It takes a couple years to learn how to hand stain leather… as it’s more of an art than a science. Before you know it, i’m no longer hand staining and using the predyed leather the tanneries produce… like everyone else is using… because I can’t stain it fast enough to keep up with the volume the retailers want.
Problem, Nobody knows how to do anything in the US anymore. We’ve been outsourcing skills so long, the work force doesnt’ have the will or the skill to do certain types of work. It’s a double edged sword. And if they did the work, then you have a lot of other (people) problems that creep into the mix.
So, for me, staying small is the only way I can do it. I was a professional accountant for 14 years, with all the frill and chills the rat race had to offer. One of the main lures to leatherworking for me is that’s is a WAY OF LIFE that’s gone by the wayside. That’s why I love it. I don’t want to ever do anything to make it a ‘rat race’.
Sorry about the rambling. But we are walking a fine line between MONEY and ART. Right now, I choose to keep it as an art….with sufficient money to live within my means and be happy with what I’m doing.
Putting this list was quite enjoyable. I hope you appreciate these works of art as much as I did. My personal favorite is the leather satchel by Cratgo.
– postal messenger bag – $450 –
– the messenger in pullman brown – $280 –
– antiqued leather briefcase – $475 –
– the hand stitched leather satchel – $495 –
– medium leather satchel – $285 –
– Devina brighton leather satchel bag – $400 –
– grizzly bear portfolio briefcase – $319 –
– horween chromexcel briefcase – $650 –
– honey messenger bag – $225 –
– wood teak briefcase – $400 –
– the flat flap satchel – $295 –
– handtailor briefcase – $473 –
– the goliath leather camera bag – $550 –
– william james 256 leather briefcase – $775 –
– buckskin messenger bag – $199 –
– european briefcase – $450 –
If you buy a phone case, especially an expensive one, it can be a pain when the next phone comes out with different dimensions. I am always uncertain about buying leather cases and sleeves for gadgets that change dimensions and ports as new iterations come out, like the MacBook Air Sleeve.
The latest iPhone comes out as too tall for the iPhone 4 sleeves so manufacturers are cranking out iPhone 5 designs. Hopefully those who bought iPhone 4 sleeves can find something to do with them or someone to sell them to. Continue reading “New: Saddleback Leather iPhone 5 Leather Sleeve”
Quality leather watch bands made from Shell Cordovan or Chromexcel are spendy
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…
To receive some impressively designed leather goods catalogs, go here: Continue reading “Get Some Leather Goods Catalogs”
Tanner goods, from the land of Portland Oregon, makes durable lifestyle men’s goods with a careful eye towards style. While leather is a staple, tough canvas is also used in pleasing quantities. Continue reading “Tanner Goods”
