Leather Needle Thread
Make your own leather sneakers Make a Bag in a Day Stitch your own leather espadrilles Stitchless Bags Handpainted small leathergoods Make a Leather Backpack in a Day Master bag design & construction course
Leather Needle Thread
 
 

BRISTOL BASED LEATHER
bAG & SHOE MAKING WORKSHOPS

 

Learn the art of leatherwork and make a beautiful handcrafted piece that you can use everyday
 

 
 
 
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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

 

Thoughtfully created workshops that simplify leatherwork to enable you to gain confidence at making

 
 
 
 
 

Absolutely brilliant course! Really loved getting creative and properly using my hands to make something to be proud of. Can't stop looking at my lovely little bag, thank you again
Lily Doble, Bristol Blogger Lily Doughball

Hands down, by far, the BEST class I have been to!! Lovely atmosphere - very friendly and relaxed. Highly recommended! Still smitten with my new bag! 
Ziggy Momrelle

 
 
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FOLLOW OUR INSTAGRAM FEED

I had no idea how much thought can go into a bag strap…The main body of the bag was always my focus - is it structured, is it squidgy, is it circular and curving or is it angular and hard-edged???? But, now, I’m a strap girl… Been thinking a lot (A LOT) about how a handle or strap attaches to the bag (riveted? machine-stitched? hand-stitched? knotted on?) and how the handle feels in your hands/on your body/over your shoulder. Not forgetting that people want to have the choice to adjust the length - ‘cos we’re not all only 5’2” like me….! ⁣ ⁣ Introducing a preview of a little detail of my new bag collection.⁣ ⁣ #creativehappylife #britishbagbrand #britishleatherbags #knottedstrap #simpledesign #quietdesign #cleandesign #whiteandgrey #monochromebag #tubestrap #thiscreativelife #paredback #cleanaccessories #accessor⁣iesdesigner ⁣ ⁣
Today I've been delving in the many boxes of leather scraps and trimmings that I've hoarded for years. I wanted to make a sample for my new collection of 'curve' bags and found the perfect size offcuts of the most beautiful veg tan German leather in this dove grey and darker charcoal grey. So, now this bag is turning into a tonal colour block bag. I love it when ideas suddenly start whizzing about in your head!! Driven purely by the materials you already had lurking under your workbench... Out of shot is my very very messy desk. I'll blitz it in a clean up soon, but when I'm making tidiness gets left by the wayside and I'm a total slob. Does anyone else make messily or are you mostly tidy Tina's? #messymonday #messyworkspace #greyleather #grayleather #colourblockbag #colourblockleather #ontheworkbench #britishleatherbags #britishbagbrand #newbagcollection #messymaker #burstofcreativity
I really believe that the design process has to work in tandem with the choice of materials as each has a bearing on the other. Cutting a pattern with no consideration of the pliancy, thickness and other properties of the leather would just make the overall journey from initial concept to final sample/prototype so much more lengthy and arduous. It’s this challenging aspect of leather that I love - that each piece of leather has such a massive impact on the feel and personality of a bag. Get it right, and it just works and I feel very happy!!⁣ ⁣ Right now (when I'm not exploring beautiful places in and around Bristol @theethicurean) I'm working on a new collection of bags inspired by a soft and supple German veg tan leather I sourced aeons ago. At the heart of this collection are curves. Distorted round-based bucket bags in a number of guises. Reduced, refined down collection of key shapes in waxy leather and suede. Soft, tactile bags that hold their form. ⁣ ⁣ 1) Knot bag - is a simple, medium-sized shoulder bag that sees the handle ingeniously knotted into the body of the bag in a seamless line. 2) Rebuild bag - is a bag that can be worn 3 ways. Backpack, double handled tote bag, or single strap cross body bag. And, 3) The third bag of the collection has yet to make him or herself apparent to me yet....⁣ ⁣
Yesterday me and @emilyllangdon had the pleasure of teaching 12 lovely people to make their own leather sneakers. 12 beautifully hand-stitched pairs of shoes in amazingly creative combinations of leather and colour - you all totally nailed it!!! ⁣ ⁣ Thanks to @theforgebristol for hosting in your gorgeous space and to @sneakerkit for providing patterns, soles and the process. ⁣ ⁣ Who fancies doing the next sneaker workshop - in the pipeline for this Autumn?!⁣ ⁣ @house.of.wards @joannaprints @karen_blake @gildedmagpie @kkiliszek @menaluciab⁣ ⁣ #bristolcreatives⁣ #sneakerkit⁣ #doitfortheprocess⁣ #mindfulcrafting⁣ #makeyourownshoes⁣ #leatherworkshops⁣ #saturdaycraftday⁣ #learnanewcraft
Placing one colour next to another is quite a personal, subjective thing.  Some just resonate, while others just jar. The colours I’ve selected to express my brand are the ones I keep coming back to.  Warm, intense and muted colours. Who knew that colour could create coherency out of all the jumbled ideas, plans and thoughts in my head?! I now have a clear path ahead for my new bag brand (hopefully with the odd serendipitous side path shooting off every now and then!) #newsmallbusiness #newcollection #newbagbrand #britishleatherbags #moodboard #loveofcolour #loveofcolor #leathermoodboard #britishbagbrand #slowfashion #vegtanleather #springmoodboard #autumnmoodboard #springpersonality #autumnpersonality #leathercolour
For me, designing entails a lot of procrastination around decision making. Being someone who likes to ponder and mull over any selection of choices, staring at a blank wall is often where I find myself. Designing a bag starts with a vague idea in my head - maybe a knotted strap, or a rounded-squidgy shape, or a specific way of closing and securing the bag. Some quick sketches start to grow the idea, and give me a better sense of how the different components might work together functionally and aesthetically. Here I am pattern cutting, which forces me to make some key decisions like how wide and high the bag will be, where and how the straps will attach and how the different components will be put together. Does this procrastination and wall-staring sound familiar at all to any of you designers, creators and crafters? How on earth do you kick-start the process and get yourself out of a design-rut??!! #creativityfound #smallindependentlabels #sustainableaccessories #creativitychasers #smallbusinesslove #designlife #designprocess #creatingbags #slowdesign #creativeblock #leatherdesigner #creativeprocrastination #creativitylost #sustainablefashion #madeinbristol #bristolcreativebrands #madeinbritain #britishleatherbags #britishaccessorydesigner #britishbagmakers
#marchmeetthemaker Day 6 FULL OR PART TIME. I've not really got myself into gear to do this year's #marchmeetthemaker challenge but today's topic really inspired me. These three munchkins continually hi-jack my time so I'm barely able to manage part time. But I'm still trying to carve out a little business for myself when I've not got my mum hat on. Bit by bit it's getting easier to do this and I'm sure as they get older I'll miss all the snotty noses, bickering and little leaps of joy they make my heart do on a daily (hourly basis!) #creativemums #bristolmums
For a while now, I’ve had this niggling idea in the back of my mind that I can’t brush away. These past few weeks, I’ve been steadily, quietly working away in my studio. Listening to a lot of quiet, nourishing acoustic music (with the odd day of loud, bass heavy dance - thank you Jon Hopkins), drinking a lot of pukka tea and staring at my whitewashed brick studio walls a lot - just thinking, thinking of all the different possible forms my bags could take and mulling over whether a flat contrast strap would be better than a same-colour-as-the-body tubular strap….. To the point of driving myself mad!!! And… I think I’m arriving at something I really really like and feel positive about. Proud of.... * * * ⁣So, New Collection, New Name. I am going to launch a new bag brand and I'm calling it L N thread. The first bags will blend reclaimed wooden fastenings with the most beautiful full grain tumbled Italian vegetable tanned leather. But more on that later... #britishleatherbags #britishbagbrand #britishmadebags #vegtanbags #bristolcreativebrands #handmadebags #slowfashion #sustainableaccessories #smallindependentlabels #indiefashiondesigner