m4: Navy Bridle Leather Mini Case
Navy bridle leather, two buckle straps, a round lock, a gray suede lining you only see when you open it. Nothing on the front is there to impress anybody.
Navy, then gray
The leather is English bridle, from a UK tannery, in navy. Bridle leather is vegetable tanned and then worked with wax and oils until it turns stiff and dense, and it holds a shape. Inside, the lining is gray Italian calf suede. You open the flap and the room goes soft.
Two straps and a lock
Two buckle straps cross the front, with a round silver-toned lock between them. A top handle carries rings at both ends, and the shoulder strap hangs from them. The case is 10 x 7 x 4 inches, built with two 2 inch gussets and a mobile slip pocket inside. The strap adjusts, with a 20 inch drop and a 1 inch width, suede lined underneath. Every seam is hand saddle stitched.
Inside
A white Marcellino dust bag comes with it. The photographs open the flap so the gray lining and the stacked gusset layers show.
On a stone wall by the pond
I took m4 outdoors, onto a stone wall with autumn trees and a pond behind it. The navy goes nearly black in shade and shows its blue in direct light.
How it is made
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.
