Essential Leather Tote

Fantastic
"The essential leather tote is everything I hoped for. The leather is beautifully crafted and the bag is sensational."  ~Linda A.  March 5, 2021

• Description
• Options
• Product Video
• Our Materials
• Personalization

• Leather Totes come in 3 sizes in Rustic Brown or Black leather and a Design your Own option which is leather lined and utilizes All of our leather leather colors.
  
  Our Italian leathers are all full grain and chrome/oil tanned so they are nice and soft right out of the box.
  
  For the Design Your Own option...
  just mention your interior and exterior leather color choices in the Order Notes Box.
  
  The Essential Italian Leather Tote, while basic, has the elements of more expensive totes and is available in 3 sizes.
  

  • soft buttery full grain Italian leather
    
  • Available in a fully leather lined option
  • enough space for everything you would want to carry, even all those summer Farmer's Market groceries or a weekend trip.
  • a 6x8 inch Snap in/out drop pocket with 3 compartments to hold all your quick grab items... your phone, a pen, pad for writing, business cards or even a small book
    

  
  Tote History:
  We used to make these totes unlined and in 2 leathers, Rustic Brown and Rustic Black.
  Then we started to leather line them with different leather colors inside for an additional $125 cost.
  We are now offering them in 3 sizes and...
  
  Sample Collection:  To get you started....
  Joelle, Kara and  Arthur decided on 3 Unique color combinations and we named them Midnight Calla, Cherry Blossom and The Sprout which has our new Leaf leather.
  Kara and Joelle helped with creating the perfect sizes for our new Small and Medium sized totes.
  
  See the Size and Style Guides in the product photos.
  Watch the new Product Video in the Product Video tab for a very detailed look and description of all the sizes and styles.
  
  But just in case you would rather read... here they are below.
  You can get any style in any size you like or just Design your Own in any size.
  These are all individually made to order and we are thrilled to Make something for you that you will LOVE.
  
  2 toned Carry Straps are Standardon all leather lined bags.
  We do this to add a Touch of Class to your Tote and because we like making stuff look cool and extraordinary.
  
  SIZES:
  Small - 10-3/4h x 9w x 4d, 10-1/2 inch drop and 7-1/4x5 snap in drop pocket.
  Medium - 12-1/4h x 11w x 5d, 12 inch drop and 8-1/2x6 snap in drop pocket.
  Large -  13-1/2h x 13w x 6d, 12 inch drop and 8-1/2x6 snap in drop pocket.
  
  STYLES:
  Midnight Calla -  Plum Outside, Black inside, Plum snap in Drop Pocket
  Cherry Blossom -  Bourbon outside, Blush inside, Bourbon snap in Drop Pocket
  The Sprout -  Flight Jacket outside, Leaf inside, Flight Jacket snap in Drop Pocket
  
  Customizations???
  We left an Order Notes Box on this page so you can tell us anything you would like us to do to your bag when we make it.  Some things will be free and others will add cost and take longer to make.  eg.  Changing drop length will add cost and make time to your bag but we can do it.
  
  Allow 3-4 weeks for delivery although we do hope to get these out sooner.
  We do offer a Concierge service called Make Immediately.  Basically, if you order your bag this weekend, it will be on our workbench  Monday morning being made.  Our Concierge service is new and it puts you to the top of our Make schedule.
  
  We are your Makers.
  
  
  Available in our Heavy Rustic Brown or Black leathers or
  We can ALSO make these in our other 6 leather colors by laminating two pieces of leather together.
  This gives our lighter weight, more colorful, leathers more body.
  This leather lining uses almost twice the leather and takes more to make so the cost for our 6 other, colored, leathers is 50% higher in this bag.
  This includes the Flight Jacket, Crimson, Bourbon, Bronze, Sailboat and Sahara Nights leathers.  See the Sailboat/Bronze combination in the pictures.
  

  See the Options tab above for more details.
  
  

• When ordering you can choose:

  UNLINED IN STANDARD COLORS:  Rustic Brown, Black & Bison
  
  FOR LEATHER LINED OPTION:
  Outside and Inside leather colors can be chosen separately from all 12 leather colors.
  
  ORDER NOTES: for any Special Request or clarifications
  
  see the Our Materials link above for more info on our leather and hardware
  

  
  

• Learn More about our Spring Tote Collection
  
  
  
  

• 

  Shipping:
  Our items are shipped with $9.95 flat rate shipping via USPS 1st class or Priority mail. Transit times are usually 2-3 days, counting Saturday but not Sunday.

  Returns:
  All of our items come with a 30-day hassle-free return policy.

  Read our full policy here.

  
  
  *Personalized and Custom items are not refundable.

  
  

  GUARANTEED FOR LIFE, EVEN IF YOUR DOG EATS IT

  Read more about our guarantee here.

• While we are your Makers and you know exactly where your leather goods come from, it’s also important to know the source of the materials we use in making them for you. If you would like more info about our products and sources then let’s connect to discuss.

  Italian Leather: Our Primary Ingredient

  

  We are soft leather experts and have developed proprietary techniques for working with softer Chrome tanned Italian leathers.

  Unlike the stiffer, belt like, Vegetable tanned leathers, our leathers are soft right out of the box. Like the blue jeans you wear that only get softer and more comfortable with age, our leathers will immediately conform to your lifestyle and develop a great patina over time, making your life’s adventures more memorable and meaningful.

  Unbranded English Cow –Chrome/Oil tanned - Full Grain – Struck thru (dyed all the way thru the hide) Tanned in Italy – Unavailable anywhere else in the world.We worked with a 6th Generation tannery in Italy for 2 years to develop our proprietary leather.

  View our Processes and Proprietary soft leather-working techniques

  Hand-torn European Fine Art & Writing papers

  

  We offer you a choice of 3 European, hand-torn papers: Arches Text Wove, Frankfurt White, and Frankfurt Creme.

  Whether you write, draw or do both... using anything from a fountain pen to watercolor brushes, you will have the perfect paper.

  Our Standard paper is Arches Text Wove. The Frankfurt papers are our premium papers and while made more for fountain pens, work very well for water coloring too.

  Our papers are all 120gsm in weight which give them the body you will love.
  They will not feather or bleed with a fountain pen and are acid free. You can also watercolor on our papers. They take light and heavy washes well and will dry completely flat.

  And because you can write on both sides with any pen or pencil, it's like having twice the amount of usable pages you would have in a book with thinner paper.

  We also hand tear all of our papers from larger parent sheets to give you the rough, authentic and artisanal look and feel.

  Solid Brass Hardware

  

  Our hardware is all low lead solid brass

  Low Lead means harder and stronger hardware.

  Unlike much less expensive Zinc, Solid brass is not only strong and patinas well but the low lead content complies with California safety standards.

  We have 2 finishes, Antique Brass and Nickel Matte and because we believe in building things the way you want them, we offer you the choice of hardware finish on all of our products. If you don’t see that choice then just ask us.

  We want your tools in life to match your individuality without compromise and inspire your life’s adventures.

  Threads and Cords

  

  All kinds and all colors

  Waxed Linen, Polyester and Nylon thread and cords are used to hand-sew our permanently bound journals and for creating the Solomon’s Knot on our Modular Journals.

  We have all kinds of proprietary techniques for making our journals and you can learn them all with our DIY kits.

  Ancient and Hand-carved Beads

  

  The beads we use are anything but common.

  Some of our beads are over 300 years old. Others are individually hand carved. Some are and rustic and tribal in nature while others are more elegant.

  We use ancient African trade beads, Jade, Lapis, unpolished Tiger Eye, Jasper, Opal, solid bronze and Sterling Silver and are always adding to and changing out line.

  See our Machine Demos
  

• Personalize Any Item

  If there’s one thing that really gets us off it’s making your item look totally cool and unique.

  And, when it comes to Personalizing your item, nothing gets more personal and unique.
  That’s why we offer so much more than just initials, a name or a short line of text.

  While it’s impossible to list all the creative and different ways we can personalize your book, bag or cover, we tried grouping them into the categories below. Any and all of these can be combined so if you need something special then contact us.

  Also, keep in mind that while we usually have standard placement for personalization, we can put it just about anywhere on your item at your request. There is no additional charge for that but you do need to tell us.

  See our Personalization Gallery for Ideas

  

  3 Initial, Full or Multi-line Personalization

  included in the ordering options for most journals and covers

  3 Initial Personalization... the simplest and most popular choice.

  If you get a cover or a journal with 3 Initial Personalization, at our discretion we will usually include a matching leather bookmark and will personalize it with the same 3 initials.

  Full or Multi-line Personalization includes up to 15 spaces, counting the spaces in between the words or name.

  But just in case you are really close, we let you fudge 20% more by letting you add up to 18 spaces. When entering your desired pesonalization please remember that what you enter is CaSE sEnseTIve.

  We can put more letters on a single line but if it goes over the space limit then it will need to be entered as an additional line and will be charged accordingly.

  

  

  
  

  Symbols

  We have a Unique & Growing collection of Symbols which we can put on your item.

  To see the full collection just click on the BUTTON below.
  When ordering a Symbol we give you the choice of adding up to 3 initials directly below it.

  Symbols can also be combined with a Patch but must be ordered separately.

  See Symbols Collection

  

  

  
  

  Patches

  Leather Patches are one of the most Unique forms of personalization we know of and nobody that we know of does it.

  This is where we create a leather patch, put whatever you want on it… a Symbol, up to 3 full lines of type…. basically, whatever you would like, and sew the patch onto your item. Because setup on these can take a long time, we typically make at least 2 just in case we make a mistake. But we usually don’t so in that case we will either just give you the second one or sew it onto your bookmark (if it's included) and if it fits.

  Combinations & Variations:
  We can combine patches, Symbols, Single or Multi-line Personalization in whatever way/s you would like.

  There are near unlimited variations and we do our best to make your patch look as cool as possible.
  But if you have certain placement needs or desires then you can just let us know.

  See our Personalization Gallery for Ideas

  

  

  
  

  Custom Logos and Graphics

  If you have a logo or graphic you would like debossed into your item or on a patch then we can do that too.
  The max size is 5x2 inches. We send out to have a special metal die made which can be used over and over again.

  

  

  
  

  Custom Metal Casting

  beads, logos, findings and more...

  

  We have partnered with G&S Jewelry Mfg. in Albuquerque to vacuum cast your wildest dreams in just about any metal you would like.

  We can make just 1 or many pieces for you.
  This is great if you want to create a journal and use your own custom bead design for your own Unique series of modular journals.
  It can be a corporate logo or a family crest, a meaningful symbol between you and your loved one... almost anything you would like.

  Creativity is your only limit.
  So let your imagination run wild and contact us with your idea.
  You can watch our on location video to learn more and give you an introduction to the process. Just click the button below.

  Watch our Custom Casting Video