You know that saying.... something about the cobbler's kids having no shoes or the plumber's home having bad plumbing? It is the same here. Everything I have ever made, D has said, "Can I have one?". Yes! Sure! Just as soon as I (insert excuse here). He has had a number of my cases and sleeves but most of them weren't really made for him. His sleeve was the one shot for ReadyMade Magazine and his iphone case was a prototype. His pencil pouch was one grabbed out of a box of products on the way to Rhode Island because the zipper was scratched. So last month, when 1 week before his birthday his work upgraded him to a new 17" macbook pro, I decided it was and excellent opportunity to make something for him that I've never made for anyone else.
David requested a leather messenger and I really didn't give it a second thought. I've done messengers in wool before and really felt and leather have the same construction issues. The densities and thicknesses are different but the sequencing of construction can be the same really. In the end, it was just a matter of figuring out the connection details. A handsome bag for a handsome fellow.
Most of the leather I use I hand-dye myself but for this scale of bag, I decided not to hand-dye. The leather I ended up using was one I had my eye on for a while. It is actually considered a "utility" leather and it is thick and It feels smooth... sort of like honed stone. It has an oiled finish which means that it scuffs and weathers easily but when I showed the leather to D, I think that was the part he was most interested in. He's only had the bag for a few weeks and already, it looks comfortable and used as if he's carried it for years.
The bag is un-lined with a full leather pocket on the back for notebooks. I also made two separate horizontal wool felt slip sleeves inside for the laptop and ipad. The sleeves have no closures; just simple slips but they protect the laptop from the chargers floating around in the bag (as well as bumpy rides to work on the scooter). For the most part, the wool sleeves stay in the bag and the laptop is put in or pulled out easily, I guess if he wanted to walk around with the laptop in the sleeve, that would be possible too as the sleeve isn't connected to the bag but the good fit between bag and sleeve means it doesn't feel loose.
I liked the idea of the simple felt slip sleeve insert so much I decided to add a few to the shop. It is terribly simple idea but it worked so well for D so I wanted to share. It seems to offer a bit a flexibility... able to work in a bag or walk around on its own. I made up some in three different colors today and shot some photos to be added to the shop later this week. As for adding this bag to the shop.... I think maybe in the future. Could make for an exciting new addition once things slow enough for me to focus on them.
So Happy Birthday, D! I'm glad you love your bag. Thanks for parting from it long enough for me to shoot a few photos.
