Motorcycle Gear Transformed into Leather Fringe Handbags

Custom orders are always so special to me, and this one was no exception.

A few months ago, I was carrying one of my own fringe designs around town and was approached by a woman that also has an affinity for fringe.  That tends to happens lot - we fringe-lovers spot one another pretty quickly! 

She started to tell me about her own fringe garments, and described an old pair of custom made leather pants and some funky leather fringe chaps sitting in the back of her closet.  She does not ride motorcycles anymore, but she still holds on to these leather garments - not sure what exactly to do with them but quite certain she will never wear them again.  After a quick conversation about what I do at Uptown Redesigns, a new custom order was launched.  She sent me "before" photos of her garments, and we got started with new design ideas.





The client's design requests were fairly straight-forward.  She wanted a large tote that she would use to haul things around in - larger than an everyday purse.  She also wanted a small clutch for going out at night, etc.  She asked that I try to reuse as much of the original flair as possible (the fringe, braided trim, eyelets, pockets, snaps, etc.) as she wanted to remember her biker days when she carried these bags.  

There was definitely a lot of cool stuff to work with here!  I got started dismantling the garments, and took a close look at the components. 

Dismantled: all the leather components 

It was quite a designer's challenge, but I had a blast working on this project and was pretty happy with the outcomes:

After: Large Tote and Funky Clutch

Luckily - the client was very happy too! Now she has a piece of her motorcycle days and a piece of New Orleans to carry with her wherever she goes!   Enjoy, Anna!



www.uptownredesigns.com 
Upcycled Bags Handmade in New Orleans