Showing posts with label tooled leather. Show all posts

06/08/2017

Tooled leather keychain

I have recently posted pictures of this tooled veg tan leather key chain in a leather craft group on Facebook and I got comments that the model was stamped, not tooled by hand. This was in fact flattering, considering the decoration looked so even and good, but still I felt the need to reveal the process for clarification. So here are illustrations of the working stages, from form cutting, to drawing tracing, incision, tooling, fine cuts making and dyeing, all made by hand. The product is available on our website, Atelierul de istorie, and the decorative model is inspired by ancient history, aka the Draco war standard of the Dacians.

For intense comments feel free to join out Facebook handmade leather craft group, Marochinarie artizanala (Romanian mostly, but not exclusively), with 182 members so far.

Draco leather key chain

Handmade tooled leather project

Leather project by Atelierul de istorie

18/07/2017

New batch of handmade leather wallets

A new set of leather wallets is now available for sale by Atelierul de istorie. As its best selling model, they are decorated with the ancient war standard of the Dacians, the so-called Draco (dragon in Latin), a mythical half wolf half serpent creature that the feared Dacians carried in battle to frighten the conquering Romans.

The differences reside solely in the colors of these wallets, some monochrome (black), some with mixed colors (red) and two block-dyed according to our previously described technique (black and brown). The inside pockets are either black or dark brown, assorted with the outside.

Draco leather wallets by Atelierul de istorie

Tooled leather handmade wallets by Atelierul de istorie

Leather dyeing variants by Atelierul de istorie

Wallets insides by Atelierul de istorie

See the description of the block-dyeing technique HERE.

See the Mjolnir-decorated wallets also created by Atelierul de istorie HERE.

And the collection of skull leather wallets available internationally by the same team on Etsy, at the Proper Leather Studio HERE.

23/05/2017

Red leather draco wallet

Atelierul de istorie has just created a personalized variant of the handmade leather wallet with tooled decoration consisting of the mythical Draco, the half wolf half snake war standard of the ancient Dacians. The bi-fold wallet is entirely made by hand - original drawing, transfer, incision, tooling, dyeing, sewing, and finish. This color combination - red and brown both inside and outside, degrade on the outside, one red card pocket stamped with the same ancient symbol - is but one of the options available.

Draco leather wallet by Atelierul de istorie

Here are some images during the manufacturing of this wallet, i.e. the hand stitching and gluing of the components. These are all made of natural veg tan leather, the pieces varying in thickness.

Draco leather wallet by Atelierul de istorie

17/05/2017

New skull tooled leather wallet by the Proper Leather Studio

The Proper Leather Studio on Etsy has just remade one of its best selling models, a leather skull wallet entirely handmade. The bi-fold leather wallet is hand-dyed, in shades of dark brown dye and brown Gel Antique on the outside and dark brown and 6 dark brown side pockets for credit cards on the inside. The item is made of high quality veg-tanned leather, subsequently protected with several layers of acrylic finish. Polished and waxed edges.

Natural leather wallet for men, skull wallet, handmade EDC leather, boyfriend husband gift, European card holder, Goth hand-tooled wallet

Outside: 1.6-2.0 mm (4 to 5 oz) single bend European hide
Inside: 1 mm (2.5 oz) calf hide
Folded measurements: 12 x 9.5 cm / 4.7 x 3.7 inches.
Slim enough to enter into your pocket.
Due to the high-quality leather and craftsmanship, this wallet will last good years of use. Nevertheless, do not submerge it into water and avoid acids and corrosives. Leather is not a waterproof material and if submerged, it absorbs water and might deform of loose some of the color. Cared for, it will only look better in time. Also, it needs to soften through wear a bit, to reach its optimal functions.

See the other wallets available - hooded skull and bucranium.

The studio is a family business, with me making the designs, transfers, cutting, and dyeing, and my husband managing the measuring, cutting, and sewing of the products. We like to make thing properly, thus every item has been cut, incised, tooled, dyed, sewed, and finished entirely by hand. We take our time in carefully crafting every single item so that it is both artistically pleasing and durable.

29/01/2017

Handmade leather flag

A special order received by Atelierul de istorie consists of an entirely handmade leather flag inspired by the ancient Dacian civilization. The project is a complex one, with several working stages and materials involved. The central element is a piece of veg tan leather, tooled with the ancient Dacian war standard, the Draco, hand-dyed in contrasting colors The background is made of brown, predyed leather, with the letters for "Dacii liberi " (the Free Dacians") perforated and sewn with silk thread, as it is more resistant. The flag is meant to be attached to an inverted L-shaped support.

Size: ca. 50 x 40 cm

21/01/2017

Handmade leather goodies from the Transylvanian Trove

The Transylvanian Trove includes several handmade leather items - bracelets, earrings and coasters. The most recently added is a vintage tooled veg tan leather bracelet decorated with a hand-painted geometric flower motif (that some have also interpreted as Neptune's trident :)).

Vintage tooled leather bracelet, natural leather cuff, handmade leather jewelry, geometric flower, design in Transylvania, Romania

The leather earrings available on the Etsy shop are both tooled and plain leather ones. The advantage of both is they are light and warm to the touch, so very comfortable to wear. The octopus earrings have been described in a previous post HERE and the autumn leaf earrings HERE.

Leather earrings, autumn leaf shaped, asymmetrical (framing the face), handmade jewelry, veg tan natural leather, from Transylvania

Octopus leather earrings, animal earrings, handmade jewelry, natural leather, 3D, designed in Transylvania, trendy accessories, Romania

Leather earrings, round earrings, handmade jewelry, natural colors, natural leather, metal hangers, made in Transylvania, Romania

I have also recently added another category, i.e. leather coasters, made of up-cycled natural leather, assorted in brown and black colors. The colored coasters can be used to differentiate between glasses at parties and receptions.

Set of 4 leather coasters, assorted natural colors, natural leather, drinks coasters, gift for him, handmade in Transylvania, Romania

16/10/2016

Block-dye leather wallet

The Proper Leather Studio is working on a new series of block-dye handmade leather wallets. The new project employs a decorative symbol inspired by the ancient Dacian Civilization from the territory of present-day Romania, i.e. the mythical half wolf half snake war standard of the feared Dacians. This so-called draco (dragon as the Roman put it) was initially blocked with three careful brush applications of leather Resolene, then the entire outer piece of the wallet was covered in Gel Antique and burnished, while the final step consisting of sponge painting with brown dye the surface and corners around the main motif. See more about the block technique HERE.

finished wallet

05/10/2016

Handmade leathercraft

As we [The Proper Leather Studio] have just started a new batch of natural leather, tooled wallets, I though I should show you our method. The first painstaking step is to cut all the elements - outside, money divider, pockets - at their required dimensions. The outside is cut of thicker veg tan leather as it is decorated through tooling. The chosen motif (a skull and an owl so far from the current lot) is transferred by hand on the damped piece of leather, incised and tooled. The pockets are meanwhile hand-dyed - all black for this project.

Veg-tan leather cut for several wallets

Hand dyed leather elements (dividers and pockets)

The tooled motifs are then blocked with Leather Sheen and/or Resolene (we use Tandy Leather products for this). Resolene does a better job at blocking but allows for less hue gradients of Gel Antique. Sheene is more permeable but better for some projects. It all depends on the intended effect.

Blocking tooled leather motifs

The next stage envisages hand dying the outside of the wallets - around the blocked motifs - by brush and sponge and then applying and wiping Gel Antique from the entire outer surface. The combination of colors is rather important here, considering that the dye is covered with the semi-transparent Gel Antique and the precise and sufficient blocking of the motif, that should remain leather-color, with the gel just stressing the indentations.

Hand-dyeing

The parts and then assembled, glued, sewed and the edges finished.
See our finished products on ETSY.

23/08/2016

Celtic triquetra leather cuff

The latest product of Atelierul de istorie is an entirely handmade leather cuff bracelet decorated with the Celtic triquetra (triple knot) motif. The term is of Latin origin, from tri- "three" and quetrus "cornered", originally meant "triangle" and was used to refer to various three-cornered shapes. The wristband depicts a series of tooled interlaced knots, ending in vegetal tendrils. In order to stress the interlaced decoration further, all relief parts of the decoration are painted by hand in black against the dark green background. Made of natural vegetable tanned, full grain leather. Dimensions: 17 – 20 cm in length, 3.5 cm. in width.

07/08/2016

Buffalo skull leather wallet

The most recent listing of the Proper Leather Studio on Etsy is a bi-fold handmade leather wallet with tooled motif - Bucranium (buffalo skull). It is a unique item, entirely made by hand.
We took great care with dying. Outside it is a very dark brown/black hand-mixed dye and saddle tan Gel Antique, creating a naturalistic color effect for the skull. See HERE how it was made. Inside it is black, with six black side pockets for credit cards.

This item is made of high quality Veg-tanned leather. Completely handmade (no machines). Leather dyed and protected with several layers of acrylic finish (Sheene and Resolene). Polished and waxed edges.
Outside: 1.6-2.0 mm (4 to 5 oz) single bend European hide
Inside: 1 mm (2.5 oz) calf hide
Folded measurements: 12 x 9.5 cm / 4.7 x 3.7 inches.

Due to the high-quality leather and craftsmanship, this wallet will last good years of use. Nevertheless, do not submerge it into water and avoid acids and corrosives. Leather is not a waterproof material and if submerged, it absorbs water and might deform of loose some of the color. Cared for, it will only look better in time. Also, it needs to soften through wear a bit, to reach its optimal functions.

22/07/2016

Leather: Etsy treasury and teams

Here is my most recent treasury that focuses on a group of objects close to my interests, i.e. hand tooled leather wallets. I have collected both new and vintage handmade wallets that I like due to the quality of their craftsmanship, the decorative effect, or other surprising elements. I confess, I am a fan of the Sherridan style.

If you sell such items on Etsy, here is a list of teams focused on leather products to which you can apply to promote your shop and items. Unfortunately, these smaller teams are not so active, so you might consider also joining some of the more general ones to compensate. See you there!

(un)intentional contemporary art in Transylvania