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Can someone explain to me how this is done? I was wanting to do card slots like this for a wallet that I am making, but couldn't figure out, so I went on etsy to see if it was even possible and found a good example, but still can't figure it out. How do the cards in the higher slots not fall to the bottom? I am confused.

"LüMNé" by Imadlak Hello Leatherworkers, I'd like to share with you the first bag that I made for my Wife. This project too has been in the making for a few years, as every time I would decide to start I would realize I was unsure as to exactly how. I had the vision to create her something unique and chic - with a special touch that seems to be still missing out there (which could be because of a lack in demand, I haven't gone too far in investigating): a bag that lights-up. From this was born the "LüMNé" which stands for "Light Up My Night éditions" (with the "ü" in the anagram conveniently written with the umlaut to show a different pronounciation ). Inspiration: my Wife's desires (sturdy, thick handles, no shoulder strap), Michael Kors Selma, Louis Vuitton Speedy 35 Materials: Body: Croco Patent Cow Skin (chrome-tanned @ unitedleather.com) Body & Handle reinforcement: Crazy Horse Cow Skin - brown (veg-tanned @ unitedleather.com) Lining: Diamond Pink Lambskin (chrome-tanned @ fashionleather.com) Lining Base: Hair-on White Toscana Lambskin (chrome-tanned @ fashionleather.com) Zippers: Gunmetal & Palladium Coated RiRi zippers Hardware: all Natural brass hardware made from solid brass (@ buckleguy.com) Pocket Lining: Habotai Silk Light-Up inside: Pink high Brigthness GloWire strips powered by 9V (@ glowire.com) Features: H-25cm x W-33cm x L-15cm Natural Brass feet to protect bottom 2-Zip top closure Inside Zipper pocket + 2 Pockets for Cell phone and misc. Light-up inside when bag zipper is open Design-process: Firstly I downloaded some pics online from various sources of the bags that inspired mine, and used my measurement needs with the help of Google SketchUp to scale the bag down and take measurements I used those measurements to make the cut patterns for the bag and the various pieces it is made of (about 30pcs + fabric lining + hardware) Using a handy tool for Sketchup, I printed out to-scale patterns for the pieces that were too complex to draw with a pencil and ruler I made the first mock-up out of paper, then another of fabric to make sure all the pieces fit together. Even with the mockups, I needed to make a few adjustments along the way because of the leather's thickness Some thoughts and lessons: - Bag Handle too thick: This is one comment I keep on getting from people who see the bag - and I too believe I should make it thinner next time, but my Wifey says she likes it BECAUSE of its thickness and is more comfortable on her arm. So customer's word is the one I'll go with - The Bag's edge is too thick: I thought about skiving to feather the thick vegtan between the 2 layers of Patent Croc, but somehow forgot about it and thought I could make it look smooth with a lot of edge dye. Although this is a flaw only I have noticed, it is something I will change in the next one. - Vegtan as stiffener: Im pretty sure it's not only a huge waste of good leather (and money $$$) to use the nice vegtan to give the bag some sturdiness, but it also adds a lot of weight to it. I have tried interfacing, craft foam and even thin cardboard but none of them gave the same feel. Any suggestions? - The Lighting "mechanism": this being also my first work with electronics, I'm curious to see how long the switch will survive (a piece that I salvaged from an old CD player). Also, I did my best to make the battery pack as small as possible, it currently takes up about 1cm x 5cm x 4cm. - The Habotai Silk as pocket lining: It really is a nice and soft fabric, but definitely not suitable for a handbag's pocket lining. It already shows signs if warping. Lesson learned. - The Diamond Pink leather: It is pretty and reflects the pink glow of the light, but it is not very durable, on the close-ups you will see that some of the glitter has already rubbed off. - The 2x zippers instead of 1: It makes it a bit more hassle to open the bag, next time I'll definitely need to purchase the right size zipper AFTER making my plans - The thick handles: Not only did they turn out to be a bit too thick, it was also a pain to figure out a way to attach them to the bag and keep them in place (the resistance of the flexing is pretty strong). Also, the place where the D-rings are attached to the handle, I could not get that fold as pretty and elegant as I imagined... that will be something to practice. - The Sewing: we only have an old Singer machine, and although I tried, the Patent and Diamond leather did not pass easily (even with a walking foot) so I had to sew the whole bag by hand... which would explain why it took me a month to finish... Here you can barely see the switch that is activated by fully opening the zipper Close-up of handle attached to the bag and the bag's edges: requires some more attention to make it smoother and more elegant Once again, my biggest reward was the look on my Wife's face when I gave her the bag... and she's already submitted requests for more Thank you for viewing and please leave your comments and feedback below! Gergo p.s.: a huge shout-out and thank you to my Wife, Janint, for taking the pictures - if you're interested in her work you'll find much more @ Imadlak Photography

"Mother's Day-out" by Imadlak (logo embroidery done by my lovely wife Janint) =============== Hello to everyone, It's a pleasure to finally have something to show you guys after repeatedly returning here for guidance for my first leather projects! I'm Gergo, 28, from Hungary. I guess insterest in leatherwork came to me as to most of us guys here: to create something we can be proud of, with such a noble material, and to please and perhaps impress the women in our lives (please tell me if I'm wrong ). The first bag that I made - to my Wife - a beautiful Patent-Croc embossed evening tote, which I will upload shortly after this one, was the result of about a year's worth of "not knowing where to start" and watching 2-3 minute Youtube videos of Designer brands' crafting processes (at least the process they advertise to the public) eagerly trying to catch the techniques and methods from there, along with this forum, where a lot of my unanswered questions found a resolution. Then came second, the bag that I've been promising for years to my Mom, in order to replace the one bag (below) she's since completely worn out: (as you can see, it's torn and faded in places... and it has lost most of its elegance and beauty...) Inspiration: my Mom's original bag (as seen above), Gucci Vintage Backpack, Gucci Backpack with Woven Strap Materials: Body: Soft Torino Lambskin - brown (chrome-tanned @ unitedleather.com) Base & Trims: Crazy Horse Cow Skin - brown (veg-tanned @ unitedleather.com) Lining: French-style striped canvas burgundy-beige Zippers: Antique-brass double RiRi zipper (ouside) and Brass RiRi zipper with silk-tape (inside) Hardware: all Antique-brass hardware made from solid brass (@ buckleguy.com) Features: H-35cm x W-28cm x L-17cm Outside Double-zip pocket Drawstring closure with snap Inside Zipper pocket Snaps on inside to attach division compartment for custom organizing Design-process: Firstly I downloaded some pics online from various sources of the bags that inspired mine, and used my measurement needs with the help of Google SketchUp to scale the bag down and take measurements I used those measurements to make the cut patterns for the bag and the various pieces it is made of (about 30pcs + fabric lining + hardware) Using a handy tool for Sketchup, I printed out to-scale patterns for the pieces that were too complex to draw with a pencil and ruler Some thoughts and lessons: If I had one regret while making the bag is to have started way too late (I gave myself 2 weeks for its finition) and did not have enough time to finish the inside separation compratment and to attach our logo. It was a real gamble that all the pieces fit nicely and the end result looks and holds great as I did not have the time to make a mock-up before the real thing. Realizing and discovering how to put everything together along the way did make it extremely exciting for me, as even with initial planning of assembly steps, at times I found that I had forgotten about something. This project taught me a lot about basic skiving, stitching and braiding techniques, and very importantly about knife sharpening, which was a game changer once I got the hang of it. Some mistakes during construction I was able to fix while others are there to stay. I find I should have made the bag a bit taller and stiffer to give it more body. The stitching was inconsistent on the thicker parts as my machine is not really adapted for that kind of work. Also the studs look awful - I guess they are meant for thicker projects, and cutting the stems shorter didn't help too much. But my biggest reward was the look on my Mom's face when I gave her the bag Thank you for viewing and please leave your comments and feedback below! Gergo

I spent about a week on this project for a friend at work, my first attempt at tooling. I tried to make the pictures look professional, but I'm no photographer. I'll gladly take criticism on this, I know I really need help with the tooling. And practice!