My son's sweetheart, Maggie, a college student and bartender, asked me to make her a wallet with the following specifications: neutral color, lots of room for paper money (tips!), three card slots, a detachable wrist strap and her initials stamped on it. The photos below show the result. The exterior leather is Montbelle from RML, the lining and strap are goat skin from Siegel Leather, which specializes in bookbinding leather. Tuck locks from Ohio Travel Bag. The hardware for the wrist strap is from Wuta, I think. I used a 3.85 Amy Roke iron with 0.6mm braided thread. F2 fileteuse tip. One feature of the wallet that I could not figure out how to photograph: It has two "fronts." That is, I put a tuck lock on both sides. So, you can open it from either side, and it always shows a front face. People have reacted quite, quite positively to this. The downside is that the strap could potentially be lost because it is not sewn on -- not likely but possible. Question: Ohio Travel Bag is the only place I could find small tuck locks (that I did not have to send back owing to their low quality). Who sells high-quality tuck locks that are small enough for a wallet like this (8" across)? Question: The stitching is 3mm from the edge. Looks too far from the edge sometimes. Does anyone else have that reaction? If so, what's the spec on a project like this? Feedback welcome.

Hello all, Please give me your feedback on a pair of briefcases shown here. In both, the smooth leather is Wickett and Craig English bridle. Goat lining. One bag has a "sandblasted" gator flap from AmTan, my first large project using that material. ABAS closures. Creased with F2 fileteuse. The bag bodies (exteriors) are 10.5" tall by 15" wide. Regarding the stitching with 1mm Tiger thread and Craft Japan irons: I've ordered European irons, and future projects will have the decorative angles we all like so much. A question for the group: How much should I charge for these briefcases? Thanks, Dale

What Uniters calls brown is ... well ... not at all what I'd call brown or could use as brown. I boned up on color theory and discovered that browns can be made by mixing a primary color with its complement. So, so stir together purple with yellow; or blue with orange; or red with green. I tried the latter, which produced a rich and slightly ruddy brown. If you are experienced at mixing paints, this is quite basic. But it's new I hope to a few others on the forum.

Inspired by the @philipjury design hack post, I'm sharing an idea here for feedback. I'd been pondering ways to give a finished look to the back of leather goods, including straps, without lining them. I had some 50% water-50% Uniters matte black edge paint in a little squeeze bottle. So I applied a couple of thin coats on the back of some English bridle from Wickett and Craig. Turns out to be a really interesting finish that seems like it might be durable. It's not a finish for luxury items, but it gives a medium satin finish, not slick but not at all rubbery-tacky, as I thought it might be. It's easy to apply, dries fairly quickly and does not appear to need any polishing, etc. The photo shows the back of a piece of bridle on the left alongside a finished piece. I've got a toiletries bag that I like to make, and I believe I'll try this as an interior finish, rather than leather, cloth, plastic or whatever. Thoughts?

With an upcoming briefcase commission, I'm looking back at one I made a couple of years ago. Thoughts welcome. (Not sure how to publish more than one image at a time but will give it a go.)