Toiletry bag / organizer in bull leather – Custom made
Recently, seeing a huge hole in my tool bag (which I carry everywhere in case a DIY project comes up), I thought I needed a sturdier organizer that I could also use as a toiletry bag.
Lots of thinking later, I have a rough idea of the bag I want. I get information from one of the Vietnamese leatherworkers I usually order custom products from. He tells me what can or cannot be done.
I buy the leather directly from 3Q (a Vietnamese supplier), who ships the leather straight to the leatherworker. For the exterior, I went with Gochoki bull leather from Rémy Carriat, a French tanner.
- Origin : Europe
- Species : Bull
- Tanning : Mineral
- Dyeing : Drum dyed / Water and oil repellent protection
- Finish : Light buffing of the grain / 3M protection
Gochoki bull leather is created by lightly buffing the grain of our leathers. The 3M treatment, done in a full bath during dyeing, gives Gochoki excellent resistance to water and stains. This soft and silky nubuck has an incomparable feel.
It comes in 4 categories:
Rémy Carriat
– Smooth Gochoki
– Hunting: slightly oiled, giving it a waxy, soft touch
– Printed Gochoki: various grains available for a patterned or uniform look
– Perforated Gochoki: different types of perforations, only available in strips
It’s nubuck with a grain called “Tecno”, color “Smoke”. I got really lucky because my leather is available in “scraps”, there are only 5 feet available (5x 30x30cm), which lets me pay less instead of buying the whole hide.
I’ve bought a bull leather bag (from a store) before, but the leather isn’t as luxurious as this one. It’s a whole different thing to have bull leather of such fine quality.
My leatherworker takes care of the rest by buying the right double zipper himself (YKK Excella, a Japanese brand) plus goat leather from Alran (Sully range, French tannery). Like in all my projects, I like the inside to be light so I can see all my stuff at a glance instead of digging for it. White isn’t a problem; this goat leather cleans up very well. Leather cleans much better than fabric, so if you need to line your bag, leather is always a good choice.
The main challenge is giving the product rigidity while using super soft leathers. For that, my leatherworker first wanted to use ordinary reinforcements, but the result becomes way too stiff. The rounded edge I wanted is no longer round. So he used another leather as reinforcement inside…
And the result is exactly as briefed. The thread is white to highlight the saddle stitch and my leatherworker’s skill. Everything is handmade, hand-cut, and hand-sewn, so I wanted the final product to do justice to the hand work.
See the leather part of the zipper? I asked for it to be domed like that to make it easier to open. Also, it’s a double zipper, so I can open my bag easily. The zipper is from YKK, a Japanese manufacturer known worldwide. The Excella line is reserved for handmade projects like mine.
I absolutely wanted rounded edges, and he perfectly followed the brief.
You can see two storage slots; they’re meant for either scissors or sewing needles, we’ll see. My needles and scissors are stainless steel, so normally they won’t rust and stain the leather. I could have had my name engraved inside, sure, but my name is already on all my bags, so for once, we’ll leave it bare.
This is the 5th or 6th time I’ve ordered from Mr Lôc aka Jabee (https://www.instagram.com/jabee_handcraft/) and I’m always just as satisfied. He’s well-organized, meticulous, attentive, and gives good advice. I highly recommend him. He ships internationally if you ever want a 100% custom leather item.
Rates:
- 3,000,000VND for labor, i.e., €108
- 2,500,000VND for leathers and accessories, i.e., €90
- TOTAL: 208€
