A Bull on Top of a Handbag
The m5: oxblood, saddle tan and red bridle leather under a brass steer, built because I wanted to see it
Nobody needs a bull on a briefcase. That’s exactly why I built one, twice.
Video: “Bull Handle English Bridle Leather Case,” Marcellino NY Briefcase Maker on YouTube, October 2023.
The first bull
I made a bull-handled briefcase in 2017, a full-size one, and I talked about it on video as an experiment. The point of the experiment was to build something because I wanted to see it exist, not because anyone had asked. It hadn’t sold. I wasn’t bothered, and I said so then: when a piece makes me feel good to build, it worked, whether or not anyone buys it. That’s my own opinion about my own work, and I stand by it.
Six years later I made the m5, a mini case. Same animal, smaller bag.
The handle
The handle is a brass figure of a longhorn steer standing on a bar, and the bar is the grip. I bring these handles in from India. They’re hard to find and expensive, and in the video I said this one was my last bull. A handle like that isn’t a part you reorder. When it’s gone, it’s gone, and the next case will have something else on top.
Look at the head. It’s a small sculpture in dark brass, and it sits on thick leather the way a hood ornament sits on a car. The flap is cut to hold it flat.
Three colors, one case
The case is English bridle leather in several colors. The flap is a deep oxblood-brown, the body and back are saddle tan, and the sides are red, with a darker brown underneath. All the edges are hand painted. I like the way the brown flap cuts across the tan, because a handbag in three colors reads like a sports jacket.
The lock is Italian, solid brass with real rivets. It’s a push-button combination lock, and the factory default is 12 o’clock. Push in, push down, and the case opens. You can set any combination you like.
Unfinished on purpose
Inside, the flap is lined in black suede, and the side panels are lined in orange where the outer leather is red. Three panels of thick bridle I left unfinished on purpose, because the bare leather is smooth and nice as it is. A case should show you what it’s made of somewhere.
The sizing is 12 inches wide, 10 high and 5 deep, with three sections: two of 2 inches and a 1-inch middle. This is a hand case, with no shoulder strap.
Why the lock closes on an empty bag
Push locks need resistance. If a bag is soft and light, the lock won’t close unless something is inside. A bag made of thick English bridle, with corners built to stay put, holds its shape, so the lock closes even when the case is empty. In the video I described it as acting almost like a hard case. That’s what thick leather buys you, and it’s why I don’t use cardboard to stiffen a bag.
An object for its own sake
I’m not going to tell you this case has a use you’ve been missing. It holds a phone, some papers, a small tablet. What it does best is stand on a shelf and make a room look interesting. If that appeals to you, the listing is live, and the button at the top leads there. If it doesn’t, that’s fine. The 2017 bull taught me that.
