Seeking Japanese Bag/satchel Patterns/ideas

[ATLeather]

Hey gang. I'm new here, so sorry if this topic is covered elsewhere.

I'm interested in making some bags with Japanese design influences. I love the Japanese look of clean lines and use of folds/straps over clasps/rivets.

Anyone know any good resources or sources of inspiration out there?

Thanks!!!

ATLeather

[TapTapTap]

Hi there ATLeather, I have good news and bad news (sorry about that). I have 4 leatherwork books (full size templates) for Japanese designs. The bad news is I am in Australia and have no way of getting them to you. I have had them since the 80's and use them quite often. The only words in english are printed on the back cover. This is the name and address of the Company.

TAMON LEATHERCRAFT SEMINAR Co, Ltd. 16-10 IWAMOTOCHO 2-CHOME CHIYODA, TOKYO 101, JAPAN. Phone: 03(866)2111. Cable: TAMON AUDIO TOKYO. TLX: J26284 TAMON.

As I said earlier, I have had them for some years however if you know anybody from Japan they would be able to steer you in the right direction. Regards, TapTapTap

[ATLeather]

Thanks Tap.

I'll look into some of that info and see what comes up.

Hope you're surviving the heat down there. Cheers.

[King's X]

Actually there a a new company that has started to publish a series of new books on Japanese leather carving with inspiration from American Leather carving primarily from the Sheridan influence. These books are pretty thorough and though in the native language they have probably 3 times the amount of pictures explaining the process then another book that I have seen.

The publisher is a Japanese company called Studio Tac. How do I know, well, I happen to own about 12 books from this publisher that i have collected over the past two years. There is probably another 12 that I am missing or have no desire to purchase due to the subject.

To help you do some research, here are a few spots where you can look at the books or start your collection.

* www.goodsjapan.com

* eBay seller: CharmingBabe ~ She is selling the Chinese translated version of these books.

* Craft Japan

* Seiwa Company

There is one more company, but I cannot remember it right now. Old age.

Good luck! Sam

[jimmy eng]

Two Japanese books I use to base bag designs off are Carry Me: 20 boutique bags to sew by Yuka Koshizen (you can find the book at Amazon) and 'something' Lesson by Ezura Yoshimi. I translate it to 'Bazuge' Lessson but that's not a word and Japanese for bag is baggu; my Japanese is practically non-existent these days. The ISBN is 978-4-579-10890-9. They're basic style bags, not particulary traditional Japanese looks, but most of the designs have a Japanese aesthetic.

The first book (Carry me) are all fabric bags and a couple of them have leather handles but I use the patterns (the book has some full size ones in the back) and the designs in leather. The most Japanese style is a market tote that has a Azuma bag that goes with it. The Azuma is a single rectangular piece of fabric/ leather sewn to make a triangular bag with a knot in the carry strap. The desginer Martin Margiela has done one in leather with a snap in the bottom to convert it into a bucket style bag. I've made this one before in denim, in leather would require a lot of it. Here's a tutorial for it: http://coco-stitch.b...g-tutorial.html There is one bag design that has a lot of snaps in it so the body of the bag can expand. Pretty clever.

The other book has a lot more leather bag designs (all leather bags). They're very minimal looks but very attractive and incredibly easy to sew/ hand sew. I have the Carry me book in English but the other one isn't so I don't know if it's available in English. Both are recommended though because they each have something to offer in terms of thinking about shapes and function. Here's a link to a bit of info about Ezura Yoshimi and some of her bag ideas http://www.handmadejapan.com/e_/features_/eft006_01.htm

Hope that all helps!

Edited January 20, 2013 by jimmy eng

[ATLeather]

Thanks guys!