Famah

Nice! That looks really great. I really love that color from W&C. The one thing I might do next time is stitch all the way around the closure piece, rather than just where it attaches. It would just be decorative, but I think it would tie in well with the stitching around the folio itself.

That's really awesome. I love stingray, and I like how the whole outer surface is made of it, not just a patch or applique. How did you find the cutting and stitching? I've heard it's really challenging. May I ask how you tackled it? I have a small skin at home that I haven't gotten the courage to work with yet.

I recently finished up a small envelope style pouch or clutch in orange togo (or at any rate, togo-style) leather. Here's an album with a couple of buildout pictures. It's sized to be able to hold just the essentials - a card case, keys, and phone. I like to use it in my tote bag to organize my stuff, and it's also handy to leave the large tote behind and just grab this when I need to run out for something quick. It's stitched with 3mm chisels and 532 natural lin cable. Edges are painted with Vernis paint in Havanna. The flap shape is from Hermes' smart pochette, and the strap-thing is after Peter Nitz. There are definitely a bunch of things to improve on. The stitching on this leather for some reason was a little wonky in a way I haven't encountered with other leathers. The thread tended to shift upon pulling each stitch tight, in a way that got rid of some of the usual slant. I also need a little more practice skiving, to get more even edges. Overall, though, I'm really pleased.

Gorgeous! Where did you buy the bonded leather for the inserts? Is that available in the garment district too? Also, may I ask what your favorite leather suppliers are? I've only just started out, and I've been to Global a few times, but nowhere else yet. Last question - do you crease the edges on your leather? I'm trying to figure out whether that's something I want to pursue or not.

There are tons of leather suppliers in the garment district. Obnoxiously, they tend to only be open 9-5 weekdays, but there are warehouses full of stuff to browse. Some even have scrap bins, too, which is nice for practice. I like to go to Global Leather, but I've heard good things about Leather, Suede, Skins and Impact Leather as well.