The Hemlock

One of the creators that I follow on social media developed an online course on making leather bags. OF COURSE I had to take it.

If you haven’t followed Hemlock + Hyde‘s work, it’s worth looking at. Their bags are beautiful! I was so excited when they released their Domestika course, “Leatherwork: Designing and making a crossbody bag” and I just waited until it went sale (again, still a broke student here). Then I spent every free minute it seemed watching their videos or attempting to follow their instructions.

I won’t spoil the process for you – it’s all in their well-made course. I did make an instagram reel documenting my progress. I used some oil tan leather I had and hardware I cut out of a bag I found at Goodwill. Because I have trouble setting rivets, my husband suggested using screw-in rivets. I like them! I’ll be keeping them around as a construction option for future projects for sure.

One of the assignments in this course has more to do with post-production tasks. They encourage their students to think about business design and marketing, so I did a mini-marketing photoshoot with the bag! I paired it with my linen crop top that I made last year because there’s just something about these natural materials that feels so right.

Now, I named the bag Hemlock, after the creators that taught me how to make it, but that doesn’t mean that I intend to market it as my own. No, this bag is actually a commissioned piece that my mother-in-law asked for. It will be her birthday present this year. (So please don’t tell her!) She just wanted a small bag that she could put her cell phone in and then clip it to her belt. I ended up making two straps, one that is short enough to fit her description and one to practice the strap technique H+H showed. In the end, I think it turned out quite lovely and the screw-in rivets and lobster claws give her the option to switch out straps whenever she wants!