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I made a personalized wallet for my boyfriend. I started by creating a prototype for practice because it's my first time working with this kind of leather. The leather used in the prototype is too thick so I could only do one pocket per side. So I made sure to get thinner leather for the pockets of the final version. I also included a picture slot using recycled plastic from a clear envelope. It a bit hard to sew the leather layers with the plastic because I had to use super glue to make sure the plastic is secure. To add a sentimental touch, I included a quote in one pocket with letterpressing and foil stamping (I include a personal message behind the picture slot for my boyfriend). Doing a prototype first helped me improved on burnishing edges and sewing, although I think I still have a lot of room to improve when it comes to symmetry and consistent measurements. All of my tools are hand-tools too, so it's harder to be accurate, although I'd like to think of design errors/mistakes as adding character to the product. If you have any suggestions or feedback, I'd appreciate it. Right now, leather crafting is a passion and hobby for me, and I've only ever made leather products as gifts to friends and loved ones, but I'd like to improve my skills hopefully to mature into my own brand. On that note, would this wallet be something you'd like to use? What would you change/add/remove if you were to use it? What do you like best about it?

After being thoroughly unimpressed with the font selections for letter/number stamping I stumbled on a post or two here that talk about using metal letterpress type to do the job. After poking around the Intergoogle a bit I can honestly say I'm completely convinced! I do have a few questions about it before I pull the pin on a set. Are there general guidelines for what font characteristics work better or worse? Is bold bad or good? Thin bad or good? What is the smallest size font that is workable with leather? Are there particular fonts that look better in leather than others? My guess is that 18 pt is probably as small as you would want to go and my plan is to start with 24 (for custom bracelets) then 30, 36, etc, etc, up to maybe 72 eventually. For each size I would probably want a generic and non-flashy font and a more elegant cursive/script type font. I know it will take me many years to accumulate all of that but for now I would like to know what would be best for my first purchase of 24 pt. Thanks in advance, Dave