m25: The Brass Pig
Natural vegetable tanned leather starts pale and ends dark. Whatever you carry in it, it keeps a record.
A pig from India
The handle is a unique brass pig from India, fixed along the top of the case. The body is natural vegetable tanned leather with no dye, the kind that patinas beautifully. Inside is a red sheepskin suede lining, and a brass key lock closes the front. I made this sample in early 2024.
The video above shows brass handles from my bench, a horse, a bull and a cobra among them. I find hand-carved brass animals like this one through dealers, mostly from India, and they are usually one of a kind.
A night on the town
I made it for a night out in a gown-type dress, with a thin gold chain for the strap, and I wanted it to stay artsy at the same time. The chain is removable, so the case works as a handbag or a hand case. It comes with a white Marcellino dust bag.
What the leather will do
Natural vegetable tanned leather has no dye and none of the heavy wax that bridle leather carries. Tanner Bates, a UK leather company describes patina as the leather taking on skin oils, sunlight and moisture and darkening in stages. On this case I expect it to show first where hands touch it.
Size
10 x 7 x 4 inches, hand saddle stitched.
How it is made
The key lock is one of my high-end handmade locks, made by hand with brass parts, not the zinc pot metal found on most bags.
The suede is real: see the suede lining page for why I use it instead of microsuede, and the care page for how to look after it.
The bridle leather is described on my leather page, and the journal explains it in What English Bridle Leather Actually Is, and Why Briefcases Are Cut From It.
The seams are hand stitched; see The Saddle Stitch Explained: Hand-Sewing Leather Step by Step for the method.
