About my leather-work

For a long as I can remember, I’ve had an attachment to bags. I remember even as a kid that I would always carry around a bag and my great-uncle affectionately referring to me as “pocket-book”, This became hi nickname for me, either because I always had a bag, or because I was always attached to my mom, or both… I can’t remember. Either way, my connection to bags has been in the making since my early years.

Before I even started attending design school, I was making bags of all sorts for myself and friends. In college, I lived off campus and needed a very large and durable bag that was suitable to tote around all of my art and design supplies. I had a locker, but the tools were expensive and I couldn’t afford to purchase multiples. I needed to be able to transport my tools back and forth so that I’d be able to work from home as well as from school. Although accessory design was not a part of my program, I applied the construction skills that I learned and spent the next few years iterating on designs for the perfect and most durable carry-all tote bag (see my giant leather tote). Over the years, I’ve developed portfolio bags for interviews and meeting, laptop / sketchbook bags that are ideal for creating on the go, and a convertible satchel backpack for when your bag gets a bit heavy, or perhaps you’re riding a bike and need the convenience of having a backpack. I even developed my own unique stitching technique that is uses in the construction of all my leather goods.

I began using leather after my metal rulers would consistently pierce through the bottom of my bags, even when made from the strongest canvas that I could find. This experience taught me just how important the material selection is, and I still have that last bag that I made for school.

My impetus for designing bags is driven by function and inspired by materials. In those early days of bag-making ventures, I discovered that I could purchase large pieces of “leather scraps” that had minor surface imperfections for much less that the regular cost. This was my introduction to the world of waste leather. Today I still use leather scraps combined with natural vegetable tanned leather my bags.