Artisian Handbags

How to make bags

"How can I get my bags made?" How many people have spoken or written to me to ask this over the years?

I haven't kept count and, to be honest, I don't care much about such numbers. But I'd like to address those of you tell you who have decided to create their own bag collection and tell you about something that's emerged from this very common type of search. What has emerged is that those who decide to manufacture bags with a Made-in-Italy designation want hand-crafted bags.

The term "hand-crafted", very controversial in recent years (what hasn't been, when it comes to leather goods?), refers of course to the "hands" and the skill of those using them.

It's worth stressing that knowing how to use a machine is also a highly qualified skill, but let's do things in order. If you're reading this, you must be seeking information that will help you get your bags made in the most artisanal way possible.


What artisanship means

Artisanal or "hand-crafted" is an adjective meaning "summarily made with limited means". It also means made by an artisan.

Artisanship is used to describe the making of products entirely by hand or with the aid of small tools. Mass-produced bags and/or the use of machines do not represent "artisanship". Now that we've considered these terms and concepts, take a moment to reflect with me. Without doubt, from my experience producing bags, ARTISANSHIP doesn't mean "summarily made" but made with greater attention to detail. This way, the bags produced are not identical but only similar. I mean the same seams and number of stitches, regular bag structure, the same dyeing. So the bags thus produced can never be identical, otherwise they clearly wouldn't be artisanal but industrial products.

You know when you buy a packaged cake from the supermarket and then taste some cake from the best local artisanal cake shop? Over the years, I've pursued that local cake shop "taste".

Successful Co-working

I and the people who work with me put a lot of heart and mind into making bags.

All the development is done manually, and this is the foundation for putting your bags into production, whether on a small or large scale.

The same goes for the cutting, the assembly – putting together the bags or their parts – and the quality control. You'll find machines used in the preparation stages (splitting, skiving, laminating materials/casings and shearing). You'll find machinery to compact edgings for dyeing. You'll find machinery for sewing parts of the bag or the finished bag.

Making bags this way inevitably links each individual worker's artisanal abilities to the production process. This means production can be stopped in time in case of problems or defects. This saves time and money, if you decide to have your bags made by me and my company. This enables us to train young people and introduce them to the fascinating world of Made-in-Italy leather goods. Finally, with this approach we can also run small batches or increase production quantities. 

What kind of bags do you want made?