Camera bag out of leather jackets.

[woof woof]

I have quite a few leather jackets but I haven't worn them for a long time but I didn't want to throw them away as a couple were presents and of sentimental value so I thought it'd be an idea to get a camera bag made out of a couple of them to give them a new life.

I've been looking for someone to make me this bag for years but recently I was pointed at a leather worker called Paul and I arranged a meet and he agreed to give it a go. I took him two leather jackets, a brown one and a black one, the brown one being the first I got when I got my first soft top 40 years ago, it has aeroplanes on the lining and I asked Paul to incorporate the lining in the bag.

Apparently leather jackets have very thin leather so it all had to be laminated but all the leather you can see is leather jacket leather and the fittings are brass.

Here it is...

Front view.

Top view.

Back view.

The crinkly bit is an elasticated piece from the bottom of the jacket.

The detailing at the right hand side and at an angle is just a false pocket for decoration.

 

[Deleted member 95430]

Thats awesome! Reduce reuse recycle and also a great one a kind piece, top work

 

[woof woof]

Side view.

Shoulder pad.

More aeroplanes on the inside of the shoulder pad.

This is the inside of the zip pocket on the back.

Top view showing the camera bag insert.

PS.
The insert is from Billingham and is the same as the one in my Hadley Pro Small.

 

[woof woof]

The inside of the top flap.

Inside the main compartment minus the camera bag insert.

One jacket didn't have a label in it but the other did so Paul incorporated it into the bag.

The main compartment with the bag insert in place and containing a Sony A7 and 35mm f1.8 in one section and a Panasonic GX80 and 14mm f2.5 in the other section.

I'm quite happy with this. Paul is a real artist and just seems to do this for the love of the craft. This is his first camera bag as he normally makes hats, wallets and strangely flying helmets which he says are a big hit with Goths. All are very good. His next project is a leather trilby for a horse owner and the lining has horses on it

This bag didn't cost a lot. I could have bought a Wotancraft Ryker but that wouldn't have been made out of my old leather jackets. I'm almost frightened to use it now, but I will

 

[derbydude]

That is fantastic great idea great bag

 

[woof woof]

Thats awesome! Reduce reuse recycle and also a great one a kind piece, top work

Yup. I'm happy and it's a one of a kind

 

[woof woof]

Oh, here's a question for anyone viewing.

Paul usually uses same colour stitching to blend in with whatever leather he's using but I thought it'd be nice to have the stitching stand out and be a feature so I asked him to use what he described as "natural" which is what you see here.

What do you think? Did I make the right decision asking for the stitching to stand out?

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

Cool bag. I like the contrasting stitching.

 

[Asha]

Oh, here's a question for anyone viewing.

Paul usually uses same colour stitching to blend in with whatever leather he's using but I thought it'd be nice to have the stitching stand out and be a feature so I asked him to use what he described as "natural" which is what you see here.

What do you think? Did I make the right decision asking for the stitching to stand out?

Well it’s a tad late to change your mind now if anyone convinces you that you made the wrong choice lol

Personally it looks just fine to me and a quite a novel idea of having a camera bag made from old jackets.

 

[woof woof]

Cool bag. I like the contrasting stitching.

YaY!

I knew I'd made the right choice

 

[woof woof]

Well it’s a tad late to change your mind now if anyone convinces you that you made the wrong choice lol

Personally it looks just fine to me and a quite a novel idea of having a camera bag made from old jackets.

Yup. Too late now but I just wondered what people thought. What gave me the idea was some contrasting stitching on a flying helmet he made.

My heart sank the first time I went to see him as I hadn't realised that leather jackets had thin leather. Paul must have put a lot of work into this as all the leather had to be laminated. The handle just on its own had to be stitched and turned inside out. It really is good work.

 

[Asha]

YaY!

I knew I'd made the right choice

You could do to update you camera bag info now though on your profile

 

[Barrysprout]

Glad you eventually found someone who could do the work you wanted Alan. He's made a good job of it too. Think you made the right call with the stitching

Just one question, does it still fit you?

 

[Asha]

My heart sank the first time I went to see him as I hadn't realised that leather jackets had thin leather. Paul must have put a lot of work into this as all the leather had to be laminated. The handle just on its own had to be stitched and turned inside out. It really is good work.

Yes I’m surprised about the thinness of leather jackets.
My first one was extremely heavy, more like a motorcyclist jacket tbh and the leather was imo thick .
My last one however is, although very supple, very thin even though it cost me a small fortune

 

[woof woof]

You could do to update you camera bag info now though on your profile

I've mostly been using a man bag I bought from a floating market in Thailand. I'm going to be careful with this bag, it will not be going into undergrowth or be put down on wet sand or anything like that

 

[woof woof]

Glad you eventually found someone who could do the work you wanted Alan. He's made a good job of it too. Think you made the right call with the stitching

Just one question, does it still fit you?

It's a nice snug fit

 

[woof woof]

Yes I’m surprised about the thinness of leather jackets.
My first one was extremely heavy, more like a motorcyclist jacket tbh and the leather was imo thick .
My last one however is, although very supple, very thin even though it cost me a small fortune

I don't know what thickness leather bags are made from, maybe they're all thin leather but laminated? I don't know...

I do remember one jacket I had which was also a present. We called into a cafe and I put it over the back of the chair and when I put it on to leave my then GF said "What's happened to your jacket?" The twonk who was sat behind me must have got a touch of envy and had slashed it. I got a new panel put in but I do remember thinking that the leather was painfully thin, and it wasn't a cheap jacket.

 

[LeeRatters]

This is awesome Alan.

A really great idea & a really really great end result!

 

[Paulie-W]

Great idea, and so cool

 

[sphexx]

I don't know what thickness leather bags are made from, maybe they're all thin leather but laminated? I don't know...

I do remember one jacket I had which was also a present. We called into a cafe and I put it over the back of the chair and when I put it on to leave my then GF said "What's happened to your jacket?" The twonk who was sat behind me must have got a touch of envy and had slashed it. I got a new panel put in but I do remember thinking that the leather was painfully thin, and it wasn't a cheap jacket.

I think the dearer they are the thinner they are for non-practical clothing.

 

[gramps]

Looks great and no one will have a camera bag like yours!

 

[tikkathreebarrel]

As I scrolled down I was hoping to see something and here it is:

"I'm quite happy with this"

That's great, you've not just retained your old friends but you've given them a whole new life AND you have a unique camera bag.

Stitching colour? Given the colours of the jackets there was always going to be a bit of compromise here: I might have gone for a different colour but, man, that's a personal thing and it's your bag.

Excellent. What can I do with my leaky old wellingtons? hahaha

 

[swanseamale47]

What was that phrase from the war? Make do and mend I think it was. What a great way to recycle and keep something of sentimental value. It's a cracker!

 

[Asha]

Excellent. What can I do with my leaky old wellingtons? hahaha

Fill them with soil and turn them into planters

 

[Gav.]

Great stuff, Alan one off master piece

 

[Stephen L]

Oh, here's a question for anyone viewing.

Paul usually uses same colour stitching to blend in with whatever leather he's using but I thought it'd be nice to have the stitching stand out and be a feature so I asked him to use what he described as "natural" which is what you see here.

What do you think? Did I make the right decision asking for the stitching to stand out?

It looks fine to me, it's a great job, and well done to you for coming up with such an interesting project. I've got an old camera bag. Wonder if I could have it made into a jacket?

 

[Tringa]

That is brilliant. Not only useful, attractive but also a great re-using.

Dave

 

[woof woof]

It looks fine to me, it's a great job, and well done to you for coming up with such an interesting project. I've got an old camera bag. Wonder if I could have it made into a jacket?

It surprised me that Paul said there was next to nothing left of the two jackets but I suppose when you add up all the external and internal panels and the strappings it's maybe understandable so maybe there would be enough material in a bag to easily make just one jacket

 

[woof woof]

I think the dearer they are the thinner they are for non-practical clothing.

That makes sense as the jacket which some numpty slashed was from an Italian shop where everything was rather expensive. They did a fantastic job of the repair though, I couldn't tell that one panel had been replaced as it was a perfect match.

 

[sphexx]

It surprised me that Paul said there was next to nothing left of the two jackets but I suppose when you add up all the external and internal panels and the strappings it's maybe understandable so maybe there would be enough material in a bag to easily make just one jacket

Generally you want a degree of stiffness in a bag so I doubt the leather would make a comfortable jacket — I think you can ‘split’ leather so maybe that would do it.

 

[Norkie]

Cool or what!

 

[SFTPhotography]

That is the definition of "Rad"

 

[Nod]

Yes I’m surprised about the thinness of leather jackets.
My first one was extremely heavy, more like a motorcyclist jacket tbh and the leather was imo thick .
My last one however is, although very supple, very thin even though it cost me a small fortune

My biking leathers are around 1.2-1.5mm thick leather and my less bikey one is around 1.1-1.3. The bike ones are much stiffer leather though and far more everything proof!

Nice looking one-off bag, Alan - enjoy USING it!

 

[Crotal Bell]

I love that, especially the fact that you can tell it's recycled, very cool indeed.

 

[woof woof]

My biking leathers are around 1.2-1.5mm thick leather and my less bikey one is around 1.1-1.3. The bike ones are much stiffer leather though and far more everything proof!

Nice looking one-off bag, Alan - enjoy USING it!

I love that, especially the fact that you can tell it's recycled, very cool indeed.

I'm already thinking of getting another. I was thinking of a much smaller pouch type bag for a small MFT RF style camera like that GX85 and 14mm f2.5 pictured above or my GM5 and 20mm f1.7.

I'll give him a rest first though and let him finish some hats and catch up on his Goth kit orders.

 

[Snapper67]

What a great project and result !

Enjoy the bag.

Cheers,
Dougie.

 

[woof woof]

What a great project and result !

Enjoy the bag.

Cheers,
Dougie.

Thanks Dougie, I will but I'm going to try to be very careful with it

 

[Nod]

I'm already thinking of getting another. I was thinking of a much smaller pouch type bag for a small MFT RF style camera like that GX85 and 14mm f2.5 pictured above or my GM5 and 20mm f1.7.

I'll give him a rest first though and let him finish some hats and catch up on his Goth kit orders.

Jacket sleeves are great for pouches - just need a base and a drawstring!

 

[woof woof]

Jacket sleeves are great for pouches - just need a base and a drawstring!

Good idea

 

[ST1]

Repurposing at its best, incorporating the original jacket label in the bag was a nice touch too. Well done Alan and of course Paul for making the bag.