I Make Leather Handbags

Accademia Riaci Leather Bag Making Course in Florence, Italy : A Very Detailed and Honest Review

Course: Atelier Bag Making (‘1 year’, but technically more like 7-8 months) Techniques Covered: Hand-sewing and machine-sewing Period Covered: September 2014 – April 2015 Location: Florence, Italy Subsequent visits: September 2017, September 2019 (exterior only) IMPORTANT: Please note that this review is solely based on my own personal experience at the school, therefore it contains my […]Read Post ›

Quiddity Vernazza Leather Tote

This is from a few years ago but I only recently transferred the photos to my computer haha. Did this fun impromptu shoot with one of my best friends from college at our old alma mater grounds, featuring our Quiddity Vernazza tote when I had just finished making it You can really see the gorgeous […]Read Post ›

Bag at a Glance: Braun Buffel Lindeza Bags

Was walking through a mall in Singapore recently and was literally stopped in my tracks by this colorful display. I was in a hurry for an appointment but couldn’t resist quickly stepping inside and giving the bag a quick check. To my pleasant surprise, they’re by Braun Buffel! Totally different from the image of the […]Read Post ›

Moynat Rejane Bag Honest Review (Updated)

This is an expansion of my original Moynat review, this time focusing more on the iconic Rejane bag. Prior to me going to bag making school back in 2014, this was one of the bags and brands I really loved from afar (no stockists in my city), and that I’ve tried to make sure to […]Read Post ›

Prada Symbole Bags Honest Review

I actually really love this embroidered fabric from Prada (and the triangle pattern), particularly in this mini N/S tote as well as the book tote size of tote. My only thing with it is that I find it a tad too pricey for fabric (same thing with Dior’s book tote haha). On the one hand, […]Read Post ›

Mansur Gavriel “Partial Apple Leather Bag” “Plant-based Update” Honest Review

By now, you probably will have heard of or used Mansur Gavriel’s iconic (in design, not quality) bucket bag or other bags, and may have seen or read mixed to negative reviews about them, especially the ones made more recently. I even wrote a long, long review about them here. But just now I saw […]Read Post ›

Bag at a Glance: Prada Y2K

Not my vibe, but it’s definitely A vibe. Strong with the 00s Force, they are.

Re: Contact Update

I stopped using a custom domain recently because it was just too expensive to maintain (and this isn’t really an income-generating thing), but I realize that I forgot to update the email address in the “contact” portion of the site. If you sent messages to that address (hello@theleathercrafter.blog) in the last year or so, I […]Read Post ›

Hermès Kelly Mini Honest Review

Another one from my friend’s collection is this mini Kelly in a taupe epsom leather, size 15 in my estimation, which is the mini although it looks a little more east-west than square, almost like a cross between a mini and a pochette. From afar, petite and pristine. But again, I am more than just […]Read Post ›

Bag at a Glance: Polène Numéro Un Bag

The funny thing is that I spotted this at the mall literally like the day after I published my other Polène bag-at-a-glance post. This one is the Numero Un bag, another style which I see featured heavily in their online ads and sponsored posts. First impression? CLUNKY and not as refined as I expected it […]Read Post ›

Bag at a Glance: Marni Cat Illustration Tote Bag

I’m a sucker for weird ass illustrations on merch, but this one is maybe too high a pricetag (googling showed it costs a little over 1000$, whereas the plain version is 700-800$) given how *basic* it is, even in terms of construction. If it were deeply discounted, I think I might have caved hahaha Observations:

Bag at a Glance: Polène Bag N°10

Probably one of the brands I’ve been most curious about, mainly because they seemingly are trying to position themselves as an “indie” or small brand, yet somehow are able to afford so much marketing (a gazillion ads, bloggers, including that dude who cuts bags up for entertainment even though his review metrics are suspect haha, […]Read Post ›

Moynat Little Suitcase Trunk Honest Review

I’m quite partial to vintage-looking or inspired trunks that are still handmade, and they’re especially adorable in these tiny sizes haha. One of the other reasons I love these trunk type bags so much is because they are quite difficult to make well. I also really like Moynat’s deco-esque monogram, which looks almost like it […]Read Post ›

Quiddity Chianti Structured Leather Bucket Bag

Quick post to share old photos I took of our Chianti bucket bag, inspired by the shape of a wine glass I love this shape, which was sort of an experimentation evolution from our Atlas totes that I worked on first. The construction is similar, just with different proportions. It ended up looking like a […]Read Post ›