My 1St Designer-Inspired Women's Handbag (For My Wife)

[DemBrodaz]

"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:

1. 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
2. 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)
3. 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
4. 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

Edited January 9, 2015 by DemBrodaz

[MonicaJacobson]

Ha, this bag is ridiculously nice. Great job.

[Northmount]

Great job. Very interesting project.

Tom

[DemBrodaz]

Ha, this bag is ridiculously nice. Great job.

I appreciate your comment Monica!

Great job. Very interesting project.

Tom

Thanks Tom! The most interesting & challenging part was to merge the electronics with the bag using whatever was available at home!

[onathread]

I love making handbags, and just wanted to tell you, that you did an awesome job! Great work! )