Messaggi.

Messages come to you in sometimes the strangest and most unexpected ways. I just returned from my first business trip, which took me to Bologna and Firenze. For those of you who might not know, I accepted a job in July that brought me back home to New York. Although it was a brief visit, I was able to see all of my friends and Florentine families, and it confirmed that Firenze will always be a second home to me.

I have a lot to write to bring you all up to date, especially the not-so-easy transition back to life in NYC. The real reason I decided to write tonight despite my bleary eyes from traveling all day is because over the weekend in Firenze I met a girl whose life I apparently changed. We met at an apperitivo that very dear friends of mine had planned for my return, in one of the bottegas I had been working in during the spring. She is not the first to tell me that my blog comes up near the top of the list (or it did when I was an active blogger) when one googles "leather and Florence". I introduced myself (as Amanda) and she said - are you vita pelle? To my surprise she said she had found this bottega in Firenze because of me. She is from Canada and had been thinking about moving to Italy. After she had followed my blog she decided that she too would pick up and do it, and she is there now, following in my footsteps. So a big "salute" to you, not only did you open my eyes to realize how powerful my message has been, but you also encouraged me to get back on here and continue to share my story with the rest of the world in the hopes that the artisans of Firenze will continue to be discovered.

And then I can tell you all about what life is like if and when you decide you want to come back to (another kind of) reality...

It's all about who you know.

I am still here in Firenze, working the days away. I am now splitting my time between three different artisans: one specializing in bags, another in belts, and one in shoes.

Since I last posted I have sold a handful of my grain sack bags such as those photographed below. I constructed all of them by hand using vintage materials. They are now on sale at Ceri Vintage in Firenze and I might be ready to take orders online very soon when I officially launch the Leather Lab site.

After a year of formal training, I realized that my interests lie in making relatively simple bags. Of course I recognize and appreciate that it sometimes requires learning very complex patterns and construction techniques to execute a simple form properly. The patterning and construction of the corners of these tote bags is something that I extracted from a more complicated bag I had designed (remember the black passantini bag?) It was a minor detail on that bag which took me three months to complete that became a critical detail on a simple bag.

Great attention is consistently paid to the length of the tracolla (shoulder strap). It is my mission in life to create bags that are comfortable worn in the summer or winter over a jacket, with a long enough drop to fit comfortably under your arm or as a messenger style.

I have been continuing to work with Roberto Ugolini, the shoe artisan, as we are in the final stages of my first shoe prototype. I conducted an interview in his shop for a fellow Tuscan blogger, Alexandra Korey. http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allthingstuscany/tuscanyarts/florence-leather-artisan-mens-shoes/

Alexandra and I spent a great morning together, and she made me realize what a large network of skilled artisans I have made here. It takes a lot of time to enter into this closely bonded community, and then a lot of patience to build these very important relationships. As we all know, especially in Italy, it really is about who you know (and who knows you, and everything about you, and still wants to work with you). I met each artisan with whom I am working through another.

I am working on a leather wrapped chair which is in its final stages,

and alongside another artisan at a laboratorio in Calenzano outside of Firenze to make my bags. The chair project made me quite famous here, since I had one artisan complete the ferro (iron work) and am working with another to complete the leather. Of course there is one man in town who transports pieces from one place to another and this chair has now made it from Piazza Santo Spirito to the outskirts, back into the center of town, from one artisan shop to another.

Since belts are a critical component of my grain sack bags, I sought out a means for small production, which led me to this incredibly talented artisan who specializes in belts. More to come on that later... but not too much later, I promise!

Ch-ch-changes

In an effort to take my sewing skills to another level I have embraced the art of hand stitching.

Everything changes: the thread, the awl used to make holes in the leather, and most importantly, the mentality. The beauty of hand-stitching is that the boundaries become broader. You are not limited to the capacity of the sewing machine and of course you are free to take your projects anywhere. I have always preferred heavy thread aesthetically, and it is difficult and often costly to find machines that will accommodate heavier threads. I battled with the machine that I had been using since I always insisted on using heavier thread, needless to say, I did not always win and had to restitch many samples as a result.

These change purses were my first attempts using this new skill. The first part of the process is to punch holes in the leather. I made a line on the perimiter of the leather with a compass to use as a guide for a straight line, and then punctured the leather using an awl that has a diamond-shaped point. I did not use anything to guide the distance between the holes, and surprisingly my stitches turned out to be relatively equidistant. I have been told that this precision comes with time so I think I am off to a pretty good start. The diamond-shape on the awl gives a natural groove in which the threads of a stitch can enter. When pulled taut, the threads create a straight stitch in alignment with the grooves. I had previously used a puntorollo, which creates a normal round hole thus causing the threads to overlap.

In order to finish the underside I used a chain-braid effect.

Although it is time consuming, I absolutely love hand-stitching. A seam that would take minutes on the machine takes three times as long by hand, but it is definitely worth the time and effort. As we say in Italian, "vale la pena".

The next chapter has officially begun.