JAW

marketing is certainly the key. versace is a company that has been around for 50+ years building their brand... you arent going to be able to compete with those established brands without either a truck full of cash to spend on marketing and advertising or the time to build a reputation. I sell briefcases that cost 400 bucks on a custom basis, but its not the only thing I make. you need to have a well designed and well thought out family of products to build a brand image and find and reach out to the types of people looking for your products. most of the briefcases I make seem to be for professors or lawyers, and there are lots of people who are willing to pay for handmade quality stuff. in reality, $300-$400 is on the very low end of the price scale for fine briefcases, and as you make more, your reputation grows and your prices can go up from there. getting to know the types of people you are trying to sell to is key. I don't think there are any limits to what you can make and sell, as long as you figure out who wants to buy it. I happen to have a serious love for vintage leather briefcases, so this really caught my attention. I would check out frank clegg's work, he is a craftsman who has built a very succesful company doing just what you have described.

Agree with AZrider, I have done a few tooled horsehide pieces. Just make sure you try to get soft or medium rolled butts, they are much easier to work with, and actaully can tool beautifully since they have a higher density. You can get very very crisp tooling. Maverick leather company has soft rolled ones if you are searching for them...