As a consultant, I used to do a lot of travelling and four years ago I was trying to practice minimalism by reducing what I carried with me to the absolute minimum. As I got down to the essential items, I was trying to find a leather messenger bag that would be the perfect size for carrying only the items I travel with. The challenge was that they were all too big and bulky or low quality. At some point I came across a leather DIY video on Youtube and figured the only way I was going to find the perfect bag for me is to make it myself. That started my leathercrafting hobby and since then I have made half a dozen messenger bags, a sling bag, a golf bag, a purse for my wife, a few wallets, and a journal/notebook cover.
Since I was coming up with my own designs, I've never used a pattern. I probably spend a month thinking through every aspect of a new project and then once I start I'm usually done within a few days. In researching my next project (leather briefcase), I decided I would like to learn how to include liners as my next step in learning the craft. The only problem is there are very few videos on Youtube on putting liners in leather bags. A few days ago I came across Philip's channel (not sure how I missed him over the last 4 years of watching leather DIY videos - as they say the teacher arrives when you're ready) and realized pretty quickly that he can help take my leathercrafting to the next level of quality. I'm excited to dive into the videos.
I'm also excited to join a community of leathercrafters as I literally don't know a single person with leathercrafting as a hobby. I'm looking forward to meeting you and learning from the community.
Hi Allen, welcome to the forum and the community! We're really glad to have you here.
Not a lot of minimalism within the projects 😉, but if you build it well, you build it once. I can wait to see some of your creations.
Philip