Leather
goods design considerations
|
As
you might imagine the design considerations for making a bag out of
stiff
heavy leather, hand laced through holes banged in with a hole punch are
quite different than those for a handbag made of soft leather with a
lot
of features. We have to skive, cement, fold, split and bind. There are
zippers as well as fasteners to install. Several layers of leather in
one
place have to smoothly flow into one layer without producing unsightly
lumps that jam in binders when sewn. The parts must be capable of being
assembled in such a way that the operations can be done easily and
accurately
time after time.
Besides the design considerations that pertain to the actual making of
the product there are other factors to consider. The product must be
designed
to meet the needs of a specific market. These needs can limit the
degree
of sophistication of the finished product as well as the quality of the
components. I can work with customers to produce the best looking
products for their market within the given constraints.
For step by step tutorials try these
links "The
Making of a Custom Handbag" or "Making
a Designer Handbag from a Photo".
For my own products I have taken craftsmanship to a new level by making
leather goods with finished edges that are fully lined as well as
stronger,
lighter, and more pleasurable to use by incorporating Hi-tech fabric
"linings"
into them. This "lining" material is a bonded fabric similar to sail
cloth
and was not made to be used as a lining material. It was designed to be
the actual outer part and is much too expensive for regular competitive
manufactured goods to use as a lining.
High-tech
materials & Leather handbag design
|
I
have made bags from canvas, and canvas and leather, but was never happy
with the "Same old, Same old" result. With my exposure to high tech
materials
as a sail maker I became convinced that sail fabrics would make a far
superior
product when combined with leather than cotton duck or canvas.
There is a practical aspect to all this. 'All leather' products can
become
heavy and bulky. The pockets for the most part, especially a stack of
patch
pockets, are almost useless. They can't hold anything of any size and
one
can't get their hand in there to get anything out.
Normally the fabric linings used in leather goods come from the garment
industry. They are thin and inexpensive, but they cannot match leather
for strength and durability. Modern sail cloth, however, is STRONGER
than
leather. Sail cloth doesn't fray or stretch and is practically
waterproof
and is stain resistant. It has it's problems though. It isn't
particularly
soft, it's white and it's expensive.
Well, I've solved those problems, except for the expensive part. I now
have a special bonded fabric, in charcoal and black, that I am
incorporating
in my handbags and wallets. These leather goods are now lighter,
stronger,
and more functional than ever before. All leather on the outside, all
strong
and safe on the inside. If you like the looks of the outside, you'll
like
the inside also and you'll like using your purchase even more.
You will perhaps see that my designs while sophisticated in
construction
and finished to a high degree, express a return to basic values that I
hope you will appreciate.
The
history of leather handbag design
|
In
the 60's and early 70's handmade leather goods became popular. Perhaps
due to the political environment people wanted a return to basic
styles.
Or perhaps these crude handmade items seemed "Real", "Natural", or even
"New". Perhaps they were popular because they represented the freedom
of
the people who made them. Apparently the rejection of the values
of the 50's included the rejection of factory "Machine Made" goods also.
Do not think that these handmade goods represented how far advanced the
leather goods industry was at that time. Better quality leather goods
had
been made for thousands of years. This was a case of reinventing the
wheel
and learning by doing.
These "Hand Made" goods were made with simple basic tools. They had
elements
of western kit type leather goods that one might make at summer camp.
They
had the Hippy look rather than the western look by having simple
stamped
designs as a colorful decoration rather than the heavy all over tooling
of the standard western look.
They were made of Oak Tanned leather and laced together with rawhide.
This
led to the yellow Latigo leather phase which was basically the same,
but
with a more pliable leather that could be easily buffed to highlight a
stamped design. This method was even faster and easier and in most
cases
did not have the colors of the Hippy era.
Softer leather bags became popular as this phase matured and as
craftsmen
came up with better designs and put stress on function rather than
decoration.
Some were hand cut and sewn but one soon appreciated the benefits
of the sewing machine and die cutting. Even though we were now using
sewing
machines to sew the bags together we still called them "Hand Made".
I was in Lynn Ma. in the Shop of Walter Dyer in the 70's and I remember
asking, him how he handled it when customers asked if the goods were
hand
made, he replied, "I say, they are as hand made as they can be".
The bag below is one that we were making at this time.
As the level of sophistication increased more machinery was
required.
With soft leather and the use of machinery the choices and complexity
have
increased dramatically. Some makers still try to pass off simple
construction
methods as high quality goods. Some haven't mastered the more difficult
methods that produce a more finished look, some are simply getting by
without
updating their products. Some of these shortcuts are covered under Quality
Construction Methods.
Passable machine sewn products can be produced with minimal equipment.
To do this, the type of construction is limited to products with raw
edges
showing or simple turned bag construction with the seams showing on the
inside. This produces a condition where they must stress form over
function,
some trick shape or design that gives the first impression that the
product
is better than it is. I still stress form and function with the
most
stress on function. A lot of pockets are not a feature if they are
unusable
or if they take up so much room that the bag is at it's best when
empty.
I strive to make products that will be practical enjoyable and enhance
the life of the user.
You can see that the bag below, that I am making today, was made using
completely different construction methods than the bag above. This bag
is now available from my store. It is custom made from a choice of
leathers
and color combinations.
It appears that we have gone through the full cycle in the last 50
years,
to where handmade or custom made goods are now almost unavailable,
especially
fine quality custom made goods. This is because unlike the bags that
were
lashed together with rawhide in the 60's and 70's , making leathergoods
has once again become a complicated process.
I make my own patterns and design the bags to work with traditional
equipment
as well as specialized equipment that I make myself. I personally make
everything shown on this web site, as well as the web site itself, with
my own hands. Go to my store to see more of my work or Contact
me All mail answered promptly.
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