We’re beginning a round of Angle Totes in the studio today, starting with the straps. This bag has a sleek and feminine design that gives it the ease of a carry-all but the functionality of a handbag, making it one of our most-loved totes. (In fact, following talk of retiring it to make way for newer styles, we saw an unforeseen number of earnest requests for the Angle Tote to remain part of the collection—and so it does.)
Totes are generally some of the easiest bags to cut because they don’t contain as many pieces as, say, a Tripp or a Triumph. The straps of this particular tote, though, require a bit more effort to do correctly because they’re so lengthy and narrow. Basically, the longer a piece is, the more difficult it becomes to economize the hide—which is accomplished by avoiding blemishes while still leaving room for additional pieces to be cut. The Angle Tote is also very defined by… well, its angles, and as a result, a strap with an uneven edge might detract from the visual effect. Before cutting each one, the leather needs to be stretched and laid out in a very specific position so that no borders are missed and the end result isn’t crooked or otherwise irregular.
Our goal is to create a balanced, beautiful tote that’s consistent in appearance and weight on all sides. That said, when all of these straps are done they’ll be laid out and separated by grain and thickness, as will every other cut Angle Tote piece, so that every finished bag ends up being uniform. They next head to the splitter, where they’ll be evened out and made ready to be stitched or ground.
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