Florine

Christmas special – Wine glass marker (Inspiration)

13 December 2018

Today a little shorter post then you might be used to… but I am quite busy with all the Christmas preparations! Do you remember the post about lasering leather Christmas coasters? Or about the tiny bag ornaments for in the Christmas tree? Well, this year I’ve gathered some inspiration for Christmas in this post but eventually, I’ve decided to make a little wine glass marker… But I ran into a little inconvenience…

Difficult Rudolf or minimalistic Christmas bells?

I usually make these items by laser for the family Christmas table back home. I’ve reached out to different laser labs. But since I only work on my leathercraft after office hours they aren’t open… Luckily my family isn’t (yet) very extended… since I have to make it by hand now. But to finish them before Christmas I will have to think clever… Which shapes are possible and which are a bit harder to make…? To finalize the design I’ve gathered some more inspiration. This time only of a wineglass marker so nobody has to ask ”which one was mine??”

Inspiration wine glass markers

To give you a few ideas you might want to try yourself, with leather or not…, I collected some images on Pinterest. They range from very difficult to cut by hand but easy by laser to easy anyways!

What would be your favorite ?? Looking forward to a nicely set table with all the loved ones dining together and ofcourse a wine glass marker!

A bit for both! – Him and Her (unisex)

11 December 2018

The best thing about leather items it that it is a great gift for both! A weekend bag, a phone case or a toiletry bag, it is often a unisex item. Ofcourse not many men will go for the pink kelly-bag or ladies for leather suspenders, but often it doesn’t matter who the gift is for! But if you would design for not a specific gender… what should you think about?

Neutral colors

Today I wanted to show a little project, which was one of my first projects. I totally forgot about the photographs I took back then. But it also shows the progress you can make in a few years time in the choice of leather, finishes and stitching techniques ;). This is an iPad or tablet case for him or her. Since it is made of a neutral color leather (read: no pink leather for example), it can go with any choice of clothes. Whether it is a big fluffy sweater dress or a neat and slick suit.

Classic style

The classic wrap style of this case with simple lines makes it an item that will always be an addition to your collection. It will never go out of style. It is an item that you can get from generation to generation. And with the natural type of leather, it will patina even more beautiful over the years. Go back to the classics. Look for a style you would still like nowadays and you probably will like for the years coming.

Design for unisex

In every design, there are design choices you make with a certain customer in mind. Try to think while designing, what would a man think of this design, and what about a woman? Ask opinions on your designs from both sexes and see if you are biased to design for a certain gender. You can design it on purpose for women or men but also on purpose for both.

With Christmas or Sinterklaas (a Dutch holiday) we play a game where everyone hands-in a little gift. The game is played with a dice which tells you who gets which gift or which task (like unwrap the gift but give to your left). After a while, the game is played. Well, at least you will be sure, with a unisex gift like this, anyone will be happy!

Inspiration from the past – Roaring ’20s

6 December 2018

When December starts, the party season is clearly present in the stores! It is time to think about resolutions for the next year and to think back to the previous years. Well, I want to look back a little further today. I want to look back to the party years in the roaring 20s. With this new series, the history might become the inspiration for the future. What were the bag trends back then and what could we learn from, use and make with, this information? Well, let’s see!

While writing and reading about the roaring twenties, it transports you to a time where only some face powder to powder your nose in the ladies room and a handkerchief had to be taken with you. Besides that, it wasn’t seposed to be practical, it was a fashion item.

Bag frames

If you ever wonder how I come up with the next blog post, the bag frame of the latest bag inspired me. The bag frame is a well-known characteristic of the bags in that era. It could be combined with fabric, metal mesh, a lot of beading or leather of course. All shapes and sizes were available of the bag frames, whether it was rectangular, round or a bit V-shaped.

Tooled leather

The roaring twenties are famous for all the details in buildings, their clothing but the bag couldn’t miss. Therefore they often tooled their leather before they made their bags. If you are not familiar with tooling of leather: with a swivel knife and other tools they could cut and punch details and complete patterns into the leather. They use often cows vegetable tan leather for this purpose, also since it will age beautifully and gives the patterns even more depth. Besides a little bit of an American influence keeps it interesting.

Designer famous in the roaring ’20s

I couldn’t find much information about bag designers in the ’20s. There are many famous clothing designers who we still adore nowadays. Though bag designers… well, one famous bag designer from that era is ofcourse Coco Chanel. In a previous post, in the series, learning from the masters, I’ve written more about her so, if interested check it out.

Photo by: Alexander Lieberman, Coco Chanel, 1951

What could we use for inspiration nowadays?

Well certainly to use more and more bag frames!! I am in love with them. Further, I am not a very big fan of it, but maybe I should eventually look into tooling, even if it is just to get to know the technique. Whether I would actually use it in my design is something else… Mainly because it is really difficult to make something beautiful and takes probably years to actually master.

Package and wrapping

4 December 2018

The time was there… I had to part with this lovely little kiss lock bag. My sister saw the final result and asked, “What if I pay you double… can I have it??” Well, even though it was tempting (haha) the new owner wanted to have her bag as well! All I had to do was to make a little package, wrap it and send it. But how?

Yeah, I know you are capable of wrapping a present. But since this isn’t an ordinary item, it deserved some extra care and love. Besides, it is like sending your business card over mail. You and your brand do want to make a good impression!

Even though the bag should speak for itself, a smile on your customers face when she sees a little thank you note and a nice little wrapping around the bag as if it was a gift, is priceless. In the series “How to brand your brand?” we’ve spoken about a brand experience; packaging and professionality. What message do you want to send to your customers? Well, I wanted to give you a little example of how I do it.

Sneak peeks!

First of all, I am as excited about the bags as the future owners are already when I send them little sneak peeks. When you make your product by hand, it takes time, especially when it is custom made. How much time does it take to send a little photo or video … not that much, right? So they know you are working your ass off to get it finished, and maybe it will soften the wait a little.

Protect and secure

If you send your product via the mail, you have to make sure your bag is protected. With little tricks such as wrapping the strap, adding some extra tissue paper, and leaving the protective plastic on to the frame I hope it will arrive safely. After packaging I’ve put it in an official parcel box but in the future I might want to buy or design my own parcel boxes.

Make it look professional

Even though I use better materials, I use better techniques than fast fashion bags and the final products look good, I still feel the need to make it look more and more professional. That it should look like as if you’ve bought it in a store. It is good to pursue a professional look, but maybe I should also have some confidence in my own products as well. It is extra special since you didn’t by it in a store! I should repeat this more often…;) But let’s keep on topic. I love it when the people in the store wrap it in some extra tissue paper. I love it when you can see, that you are the first to unwrap this lovely bag. This package is specially wrapped, send and made for you.

A little BIG thank you

I love the saying, “Every time you buy something from a small shop owner, an actual person is doing a little happy dance”. Well, this is true!! I am so excited that people like the products I make, that they will use it to make memories, and maybe even give it finally to the next generation. So, therefore, a very BIG thank you on a little note will make it extra special. (And you can make your own rubber stamps just like I did in this post!!)

Sorry for the late night photo’s… I wanted to send the bag the first thing the next day!

Send a notification the bag is on its way!

Once you’ve delivered the package to the mail man it is out of your hands. All that is left is send a little notification to the customer that his or her package is on its way.

10 not-so-obvious leathercaft Christmas gifts to add to your Christmas wishlist

29 November 2018

It’s almost December and Santa is getting nervous since you didn’t hand-in your wishlist yet. In lots of posts I talk about Christmas gifts you can make or give but what about you? What’s on your Christmas wishlist this year? Do you lack some inspiration? I’ve listed 10 not-so-obvious leathercraft gifts for all budgets. They are items you might need but never buy for yourself or forgot about.

1. Bone folder

The first item on the list is perfect as a little gift for in your stocking or under the tree. With this item you can make sharp creases, folds and wiggle some room in little corners of for example a wallet.

2. (new) John James needles

You can never have enough leather craft needles. Even though I made myself a leather pin cushion I still manage to lose some or after a while break or bent them… So a few new needles could be the perfect Christmas gift!

3. Old ironing-iron

If your Santa is a bit more old fashion and loves an almost vintage gift, an old ironing-iron as a weight to not move your leather while cutting or drawing on it would be perfect. The only minor detail is that he should probably knock on the door of grandma or search in a second-hand store!

4. Cobblers hammer

To stay in the flow of old fashion tools, have you ever used a cobbler’s hammer? No, well you might want to add this one to the list. It is perfect for tapping your stitches and some folds into shape. Luckily there are also new versions of this hammer available so no endless searching for that vintage piece.

5. Circle ruler

If you make your own patterns, or if you want another corner for example on your project, the circle ruler is your go-to-tool. It consists of all different shapes of outer and inner circles to choose from. I actually am putting this one on my Christmas wishlist!

6. Personalized hot- or rubberstamp (if Santa has the vector file of your logo ??)

It might be a little late to get this gift from your Christmas wishlist… but maybe Santa can arrange a thing or two to get it to you as soon as possible! You can go for your own hot stamp to burn your logo into your leather projects or for a rubber stamp do finish all your packaging with a personal touch.

7. Edge paint roller

If you like to use edge paint, you might want to go for this little gift. It is available from cheap to expensive and might help with getting those perfect edges! No more messing around with old awls or skewers.

8. Strap cutter

You could have seen the strap cutter in action in my latest DIY project! If you want to start this project yourself, don’t forget to add the strap cutter to your list! It makes your life so much easier once you get the hang of it.

9. Japanese glass slicker / burnisher

This is a tool, I’ve seen online but never in real life… I am very curious what it does and how it works. So definitely worth mentioning it on this list! Maybe some fellow leather lovers can explain this to me?

10. Granite skiving slab

Are you ready for a big and heavy gift? This could certainly be the one. It should be a polished one if Santa is ready this … since it will help you during the skiving of your leather as long as you do this by hand.

Do you have some other gifts we might like as well, don’t hesitate to leave a comment behind! My Christmas wishlist is finished and I’m looking forward to yours.