Emil Erwin Labor Tote Bag

This tote bag is so good looking, I will carry it to just walk from my home to the office just for the sake of holding it.

DAMN! I can even smell the leather from my computer screen..

This ... is... sooooo... AWESOME LOOKING!!!

Emil Erwin

Shortening a belt

Ok, I bought the belt from London as mentioned earlier. Supposedly to give to my dad as a gift but I bought another for him eventually which is from Massimo Dutti.

And since I got the basic tools, I can cut and finish (or burnish) the edges myself. :)

Point to note: As my belt was without any hole punches (I requested that from the seller), I have to trial and error the length that I want and cut it myself. A mistake I made was to punch the holes before I cut the length, which resulted in a few trials and errors. I wanted to get only 3 holes to have the simple look. But upon the first 3 holes made, I realised it was still too long for me and had to go a few holes inner to get it right. So take note guys, double confirm the length before you cut or punch the holes!

Comparing the swedish army belt that I always wear and the new belt

Getting the tools ready!

Burnishing the edges after cutting it  

Can you tell which is the original finished cut and which is mine? 

Here is the answer! :)

Update on Red WIng Beckman (Chestnut)

More pictures on this sturdy pair of boots.

Before application

During application

Finally, after a few days to let the LP dry and brush it up.

Update on Clarks Desert Boots (Beeswax)

Enough of words, this post is dedicated to this awesome boots; Before, During and After application of Obenauf's Heavy Duty LP.

Before application

During application

After a few days, and some brushing using horsehair brush.

Santa Croce Leather School, Scuola del Cuocio

One of the "must-go" destination in my Europe trip was the Santa Croce Leather School in Florence, Italy.

It was a walkable distance from the hotel I stayed and the weather at that time was near freezing, plus some drizzling. Finding it wasn't difficult, as it is pretty straight forward to walk once you find out the local landmarks. It is just behind the Santa Croce Church, not inside it. Initially I thought it was inside the church and almost paid the entrance fees to the church, until I explored again and found the little entrance beside it.

The entrance to the Leather School

The various leather goods on display.

It was an interesting experience in the Leather school. There's a portion of the showroom whereby you can see the students doing the leather works. Interestingly, most of them are Japanese. 

The pricetags however, ain't interesting. Prices are on the higher side. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying they are ridiculously expensive. They are made with a good quality leather with top quality skills, it's only justifiable that they command such a price. But as I am a typical Singaporean who are always looking cheap and good products, they are considered "expensive".

But overall, it was a great eye opening experience!

Leather Belt from Piccadilly Market, London

Hey everyone! Finally I am back from Europe! Well actually I was back for quite a while, just haven't got the time to sit down and blog about it. I had lots of fun in Europe, although the freezing weather can be quite bad at times. So bad that I missed Singapore's hot sun! But now, I missed the weather there cos its 34 degrees celsius in Singapore. It was about 0 or 1 degrees celsius when I was in Europe.

I went to Paris, Rome, Florence and London. Florence had a leather school which I had went to take a look, will blog about them in my next upcoming posts.

Here I am going to blog about this belt I got for my dad. He has a big belly and several shops we went to in Florence and London don't quite have the size I am looking for. His waist size is slightly larger than 42". So upon walking around in Piccadilly, London. I chanced upon this Piccadilly Market in St James Church.

Very friendly guy with great handicraft skills. Actually I had to admit, I don't mind one of the belts he made there but I prefer to see him showing his skills, so I asked him to custom make one for me.

His range of leathers.

Working on a black color belt that I requested.

Applying oil to burnish the edges.

Nice collection of belts he got there!

The prices..

Using a buffing machine, he buffed the edges and ..

..using another leather to wipe it again, creating friction to seal the raw edges

Doing the rivets.

Another wiping.

Cutting a smaller piece of leather to do the keeper.

Close to completion..

Putting on the rivets!

And its DONE!

Very good quality leather belt done in minutes. Simply loving it! Think I will shorten it and keep for myself instead cos I got another belt for my dad, a Massimo Dutti one nonetheless. Since he said that Massimo Dutti belt can fit him just nice, I think he wouldn't mind sparing me another belt. ;)

Thanks to Idris De Angeli for the amazing belt! 

Stay tuned for my upcoming posts on more Europe leather findings!

I WANT THIS! : Barrett Alley Smuggler's Belt

Just saw this belt on Uncrate.com. The second I cast my sight on the natural veg tan leather, I was in loveeeee..! What beautiful color it has. And when I saw the secret compartment that can hide a small stash of coins or money, I wished I had this belt with me when I was in Europe past weeks.

Speaking of which, had some nice pictures which I took on a belt seller in London that day. He custom made a belt to my order on the spot and ... (shall keep the details for that post).

Stay tuned!


Image and article credit: Uncrate.com