The Cat on the Handle, and the Green It Walks On
The m3: dark green English bridle leather, mustard suede inside, a brass cat for a grip
A cat is a strange thing to carry by the back. It’s also exactly the kind of figure that looks like it belongs on a green leather wall.
Video: “Brass Cat Handle Dark Green English Bridle Leather m3 Case,” Marcellino NY Briefcase Maker on YouTube, December 2023.
The video has no narration. Everything here comes from the photographs, the video description and the product listing.
Green, then gold
The leather is dark green English bridle from the UK. The hardware is gold. The handle is a brass cat, long-bodied, tail curled, and the metal has gone green along its back, so the figure and the leather are nearly the same shade where they touch. It reads as one color field with a gold exception, which is a good rule for a bag.
The flap carries a small stamped leather tab with the Marcellino name, and below it a flat push lock with a round brass dial.
The animal from above
From above, the cat lies along the spine of the case like something asleep on a railing. I like that view best. A figure handle has to work from every side, because you see it from above when you’re carrying it, and from the front when you set it down.
What’s inside
The lining is Italian calf suede, in a warm mustard that looks nearly orange in some light. Green outside and yellow in. There are two 2-inch compartments and a slip pocket for a mobile phone. The lock is Italian, handmade, in high-end brass. Everything is traditionally hand saddle stitched, which is how the whole piece was made.
The case measures 10 by 7 by 4 inches, which is two gussets of 2 inches each. It comes with its own cloth dust bag, stamped with the horse logo.
The strap
The shoulder strap is 1 inch wide with a 20-inch drop, adjustable, and lined in the same suede as the case. It stays in matching green with green stitching. I make these mini cases to work either way: carried by the cat, or on the shoulder.
Made to order
The m3 is a made-to-order style. The listing explains that the English bridle leather parts can be made in one chosen color and the suede lining in another, and that a sample photographed in several colors is a reference for how colors work together. The brass handle is sourced when the order comes in. If a particular handle can’t be found, I offer alternatives, or a matching leather handle, or no handle, since the case has a strap. A cat isn’t guaranteed.
You can write to me through the Bespoke page to ask about this one.
Why put a figure there
I think handles are where a bag gets to say something. A leather handle says the case is a case. A brass animal says that someone, at some point, was enjoying themselves. I can’t promise the cat is useful. I can say it’s the first thing people look at, and the last thing they forget.
