GavinO

Oh wow that really is stunning work!

Looks great man! I really like the lining too. I am in the middle of making a backpack with the same kind of cord closure and I didn't think of using the rinser meatal pieces for holes that you have. I have bought some kinda expensive screw-ins but I like how yours has turned out!

Hi all, I am making a backpack for someone and I would like to make the straps padded with leather. I am just starting to reseatrch it now, I have some lovwly quality sewfoam that I am yet to experiment with but if anyone has any helpful or tips for this I would be very grateful. Many thanks, Gavin.

That's great you got into the craft so deeply. I studied fashion design at university and have a background in buying, but the last few years with the bags and leatherwork is the first time I have gotten really serious about mkaing things myself. I would love to know what your local sources and tips are!

Thank you! Yeah I source most of my leather from funriture upholstery. It tends to be a bit on the floppy side so it only lends itself to certain more casual styles. For smarter styles I need to back it with something or quilt or manipulate it somehow but I can only really do it to a point. I would love to look into the businesses you mentioned for research, if you don't mind naming names!

Ah yes, I need to update my profile. I was in the UK but I am actually in Montréal now, moved here in Feb 2020, got a month of normal before the world changed!

Hallo, thanks for the feedback. All the linings and leathers are excess materials sourced from furniture production. So the selection might look a little random but I have tried to pair them to be interesting. I have a background in men's formalwear and found there that men often like some crazy linings while keeping the outher of the garment more plain/simple. Re: the blue- this was actually a sofa in its previous life, that's where the seam comes from so I just tried to line it up to look clean - there is a matching one on the other side of the bag. Most of my leathers are excess from production but I do have a fair amount that have already been used, if I like the leather/colour I will use it. Some people specifically like having the old details as it tells more of a story, others prefer a clean make that looks like new, so I am going to try a bit of both and see how they do in the market. When I made these as one-offs it took me about 12 hours. I have another two to finish in this run (another purple and another red) then I am going to see if I have really managed to save time through making several at once or not (I certainly hope so, and I quite enjoyed batching little parts of the production). Pricing wise I am landing on about $400 canadian, but I still have photography/packaging and delivery logistics to work out properly so that may change. Thanks re: the straps, I sourced them from China and they are woven from 98% recycled post consumer polyester, I designed the puppytooth print. The whole process was a learning curve and took what felt like forever, but I am super happy with them now (I have another three colours in that design to use for other projects)

and this is the internal of the red I finished last week

I got my sewing machine fixed, and managed to get through the set of colours I wanted to finish Purple blue

Good idea! I have moved to Canada from Europe, my other machine is a domestic Bernina 1130 from the 80s (I use for linings/other projects or very light leather work)- it is hard to get people who are willing to repair it when needed. Would be good to be a bit more self sufficient Macremb- thanks so much for this info, super detailed and useful!

Thank you Michiel, your advice is well appreciated. I was kind of getting to this conclusion but opening up machines just makes me nervous. It is fixed for now and the repairman was very re-assuring so hopefully it is sorted for a while

Hi all, I have had my Adler for about 4 years with absolutely no problems. However, I think I pushed it past its limit of thickness it can sew a couple of weeks ago and it threw the timing off. The repair main fixed it but it happened twice thereafter and he has now given up. I made the layers I was sewing much slimmer and managed a good few days of sewing but it just went again. This time though, it was during an operation it absolutely could do before the problems started- reasonably thick layers and zipper, perhaps the needle hit the metal of the zip and that threw it out. I have another repair guy coming tomorrow, I am worried the damage I have done has now made the machine more delicate than it was. I will talk to the repair guy about it but I wondered if anyone had any experiene with this, or tips. It is getting expensive to have repeat repair man visits, so is there a way for me to get a more permanent fix? Or is it a relatively easy thing for me to fix if it happens again so I can just manage it myself as and when it happens? I am fairly uncomfortable getting into the mechanics of my machines because I don't feel like I know enough, but if it is a matter of a slight re-arranngement and tightening then maybe it is time for me to learn.

Hi all, I posted the last duffle I made last summer. Since then I have finished french school, got a new logo and I finally managed to design and source the straps I wanted with a supplier. Making this shape in 4 other colours to launch on etsy/my own website as soon as I can. Any critiques or feedback welcome.

I finally got my logo and stamp sorted! I ended up going with leatherstampmaker.com in the end and they were great. Very clear and easy service and I am super happy with the end result. They were also a fraction of the price that Tandy were trying to charge. I will use them again and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a stamp.