Gill3041

Will do Jazzman - speak soon. Enjoy your soak!

Hi Squirelly - Thanks for the feedback. I don't work with veg tan often so don't burnish edges. I like the raw edges and work this into my designs Gill Hi Jazzman - that's them. They are now made in China rather than Nottingham!

I thought you must be a musician when I saw your user name - that's a shame you aren't able to play in your band any more, but good you have found your way back to the leather! I was playing around making really simple belts and stuff and selling on Etsy - there was a seller on there who's work was fantastic and we got chatting in the forums. I had a side of Dr Marten oxblood leather (you must remember the boots that were so in fashion in the late 70's and 80's?) and asked him if I posted him the leather would he make me a bag from it. He flatly refused but said that if I fancied driving down to Somerset with the leather he would teach me how to make one. I had absolutely no doubt that my attempt at making a bag would be a disaster, but thought, what the hell and went. Spent 2 days with Bill, learned everything that I could in the time from pattern making, cutting, stitching etc etc and made a fantastic bag (I put a pic of it in my original forum post). I took the bag to work the following day to show everyone what I'd been up to (show off!) and one of the contractors made me a cash offer I couldn't refuse. And that's where it started. To this day I still don't own one of my own bags!

Hi again - just looked at your work and it's great! Really nice stitching and designs. I have had a break from selling at fairs for about 4 years - when the recession hit people just didn't have the money to spend on my stuff anymore, so I gave it up. But I'm thinking of trying it out again later this year once I've built some stock up again. How did you get into leather work?

Hi Jazzman! I will find another pic of the bag and post it for you. It's attached to the front of the bag in the style of a traditional satchel - I sew the gusset onto the pocket front and then sew that gusset onto th front panel of the bag. Hope that makes sense! Do you sell at any fairs in Yorkshire? Gill

I've just joined this site and am looking forward to reading all the forum posts and learning plenty! I have been working with leather for around 7 years and mostly make bags using traditional saddle stitching method. Hopefully I'll be able to contribute to questions although I do consider myself to be an amateur rather than a pro leather worker! Gill