Twisted Path Leather

Just a little edge beveling for you. One of my favourite sounds doing leather is this! And the perfect curls of leather!

Part 3

This stage is all about edge beveling and sanding—the details that give a piece its finished feel.

Rounding the edges and smoothing everything out is what really makes the handbag come to life. When different parts of a saddle are brought together into one piece, it takes careful blending and a lot of finishing work to make it all look seamless.

It’s similar to woodworking: the edges need to be clean, crisp, and smooth. Those small details are what elevate a handmade piece and bring the whole design together.

The next post is the one I’ve been waiting to share—the finished handbag. Stay tuned for the final reveal!

It’s not just handbags that I make here at Twisted Path Leather.

Throwback to about four years ago, when I was just starting to experiment with leather and trying all kinds of different techniques. Tooling is something I still do from time to time, although I’ve developed some new ways of approaching it since then.

This dragon piece started as nothing more than a scrap of leather that I grabbed to practice on. It turned out better than I ever expected, but it ended up sitting in a drawer for years.

Then one day, a regular customer was looking for something dragon-themed. I cleaned it up, finished it properly, and it finally found its new home.

Sometimes the pieces we create just to learn become exactly what someone else has been searching for. Every piece has a story, and I truly believe every piece eventually finds the person it was meant for.

As I work on my next reveal, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane and share a few of the projects that helped me grow, experiment, and ultimately find my niche.

Off the bench this week and ready for their next adventure—three new handbags are heading to their new owners. Two may be similar in style, but each one is completely unique, thanks to the different saddle leather, colors, and character of the materials.

That’s the beauty of working with old saddles: no two pieces are ever the same. Every bag carries its own history and personality.

I hope their new owners love them as much as I loved making them. There’s something special about giving well-worn leather a new purpose and knowing it will continue creating memories for years to come.

Part 2

After all the cutting comes one of the most time-consuming parts of the process—punching every hole for hand stitching.

I choose to sew all of my bags by hand. It’s therapeutic, and I genuinely enjoy the process. It takes time because each hole is punched one by one, but that’s part of what makes every piece truly handmade.

And before the comments come in—yes, I know multiple-prong punches exist! This method works for me, and I’ve found a rhythm that I enjoy.

You might notice the wrap on my punch. That’s there to help deaden the sound because I live and work in a condo, and I’d rather create beautiful bags than have my neighbours plotting against me.

Slow craftsmanship isn’t the fastest path, but it’s the one I love. More behind-the-scenes coming in Part 3!

Part 1

A new commissioned project is underway, and this time it's made from an Australian saddle!

This is the first Australian saddle I've worked with, and I was surprised by just how thick the leather is. I'll be thinning a few pieces as I go, but that's all part of the process.

The first step was giving the saddle a thorough cleaning and conditioning to bring the leather back to life and help reveal the best areas to cut from.

This is just the beginning, so follow along as I share the behind-the-scenes process from saddle to finished handbag. Stay tuned for Part 2!