  |
|
Almost
every design begins as a twinkle in Greg's eye. Usually someone
at a show will request a size or look we don't make, or occasionally
Greg will see a really nice looking purse in his travels around
the country. He draws the idea on paper and then it's off to
the trusty Mac to perfect the design. When he thinks it's ready
to try, he prints the pattern pieces on a large format printer.
An average bag has about 15 pattern pieces similar to sewing
pattern pieces. After that, it's off to the shop to hand cut
the leather and sew the prototype together. Not every bag he
designs works out and often we have to try several designs before
we find one that's worth keeping. Perfection is hard to come
by. Once we are set on a design, Greg takes it to shows to get
customer response to it. If it elicits oohs and ahs from our
customers, we name it and add it to our body of work.
 is finalized,
Greg begins the work of making a set of steel rule dies from the
pattern pieces. Dies are what enable us to make our bags efficiently.
In the commercial world, cutting dies cost a great deal of money but because
Greg is a die maker, we are able to produce them without a large capital investment.
This helps us to keep the price of our work reasonable and to offer multiple
styles. Imagine the dies as large cookie cutters for leather. Each pattern die
is carefully positioned on the appropriate leather (lining, body, or gusset)
and then cut on a swing arm press. The pieces are then assembled and sewn together.
We use a technique called "stitch in the ditch" to bind the edges of the bag.
This method is almost never used in commercial bags. It requires stitching the
binding down twice, once blind and then hand trimming the excess. This gives
our bags their distinctive look. After that, the hardware and straps are attached
and it's ready to go. |
|
|
|
MY ACCOUNT
SEARCH
SHOPPING CART
HOME