u/InterPan_Galactic

Hello! I’ve just started my journey and I’m having a blast!

My biggest pain point right now is the stitching punch tools. I bought a beginner’s kit on Amazon and I realize these tools are the cheapest of the cheap. They’re also extremely thick prongs, so I bought some new (slightly nicer but still probably cheap) ones with thinner prongs.

Every project I work on is severely complicated by punching the stitching holes. Regardless of whether I do it by hand or by the punching press, the stitching punch just refuses to come out of the leather without me having to yank so hard I’ve warped the area. I tried waxing the prongs and that only helped a little. Right now my husband is punching the holes with the press and leaning all his weight on it to release the punch. It’s ridiculous.

I watch Weaver Leather on YouTube and his seems to come right out. I’m willing to put some money into tools. Any suggestions? I’m also looking for nicer beveling tools, but the punches are really testing my patience.

Hello! I’m looking to up my handbag game but I’m struggling with where to buy. I typically go for clean and simple (the Kelly 25 aesthetically is my perfect bag albeit completely unattainable). I prefer silver hardware and that seems to be a big issue as I often find only gold available.

I don’t love a lot of the designs from some of the major names (Chanel, Prada, Gucci and LV are lovely but just not my style traditionally). I can’t afford Hermes but I’m willing to go up to about $5,000 on a really nice bag.

Any recommendations for high end leather bags outside the major popular luxury brands? Or, perhaps a popular brand I’m not familiar with that fits my aesthetic?

Update: thank you for all the wonderful recommendations! I also just discovered Alaia (like what, almost “as if” I hadn’t seen Clueless) and I love the Le Click!