Tag Archives: leather

This leather card-holder is made just by folding a single piece of leather – no metal rivets, stitches, or glue

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With a design that relies on the simple powers of Origami and Kirigami, the One Piece Leather explores how to build products without additive or subtractive design. Armed with just one piece of stamp-cut leather (that’s probably the only subtractive process used in the entire product), designers Hou Shuo and Zhang Xiao have created a compact, minimalist leather card holder with 2 sleeves to separate multiple cards, and even a flap to close the cardholder and prevent objects from falling out.

The cardholder is perhaps the businessperson’s most important accessory. It does two main jobs, hold your own cards that you distribute to others, and hold the cards you receive from other people in the industry. Up until social media allowed people to connect to each other, the card-holder was the most powerful tool to expand your professional network. In a lot of ways, it still is an incredibly powerful piece of EDC, and the One Piece Leather is a rather nifty little product. Made from just one simple stamped piece of leather (ideally you could make it out of denim, Tyvek, canvas, or any other fabric), the One Piece Leather lets you simply fold your card-holder together. It ships flat-packed, making it rather logistically efficient, and engages you as the user, by letting you build your product (where have I heard this strategy before? Oh wait, IKEA!)

The holder’s clever design wraps around itself in a way that lets you segregate your cards by having a separate compartment for the cards you distribute versus the cards you receive… and its compact shape and size means your cardholder easily slips right into your pocket so you can carry it around wherever you go. Besides, the lack of rivets, stitches, and glue makes it pretty cost-effective (in terms of materials used/required and labor costs), and allows it to be more durable and easy to recycle too.

The One Piece Leather is a winner of the Red Dot Design Concept Award for the year 2021.

Designers: Hou Shuo & Zhang Xiao

Dual-tone Leather AirPods Case gives your Apple TWS earbuds a beautiful aesthetic worthy of premium EDC

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White may be a pretty classic color in the tech world, but there’s nothing quite as classic as one of the world’s oldest and most popular materials – Leather. Bullstrap’s Leather Case (codenamed Terra) for the Apple Airpods definitely gives it a lovely handcrafted appeal. The case comes with black and tan leather trims, double-stitched together with robust Nylon thread, and lined on the inside with microfiber to protect your AirPods.

The Bullstrap Terra’s V-shaped design detail feels unmistakably like a popular cigarette brand, but while I’m the last person to ever endorse tobacco, it’s definitely memorable and visually striking. The V’s slightly offset though, creating a little bit of drama (which I really like, if I’m being honest), and the soft leather feels incredible to the touch.

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The case cover comes with a two-part design that fits on the AirPods’ top and bottom halves respectively. Its precisely engineered fit prevents it from ever falling off, and it even has hole-punches for the LED notification light and the lightning charging port at the base. If that wasn’t enough, the case supports wireless charging too, letting you easily place your AirPods on a wireless charger to juice it up when the battery’s running low.

The Terra fits both generations of the AirPods, and there’s a separate variant for the AirPods Pro too. Bullstrap even offers a limited lifetime warranty on their leather case and offers to fix/replace it if there’s any wear-and-tear or a manufacturing defect.

Designer: Bullstrap

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Minimalist hanging leather chair is the hammock-alternative that’s perfect for lounging indoor spaces

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Perfect for that break between attending Zoom meetings and responding to work emails, Studio Stirling’s Sling Hanging Chair gives you that stress-melting effect you get from a hammock, but indoors. The hanging chair comprises a metal hoop suspended from the ceiling, on which lies draped a piece of thick leather that you sit on. Quite like how a hammock adjusts to your shape and posture when you sit on it, Studio Stirling’s Sling adjusts to your frame too, letting you hang out for a bit… quite literally!

The Sling hanging chair is an exercise in form, function, and minimalism. Stripped away from anything excess, it reduces the chair to its most abstract form, even ditching the legs in the process! The circular frame and leather sheet do two jobs – the more obvious one of allowing a human to sit comfortably, as well as creating an iconic silhouette that makes the Sling chair instantly recognizable and incredibly inviting. Tell me you DON’T want to sit on that beauty!

Each Sling is handmade with care by craftsmen, with a powder-coated mild-steel circular frame upon which sits the thick oil-tanned leather sheet that comes in a variety of colors including the traditional brown and black, or the more unusual bronze, silver or gold upholstery leather, lined with South African shwe-shwe fabric, and capped off with a comfortable head-bolster that can be removed, unrolled, and used as a blanket!

Designers: Joanina Pastoll & David Pastoll (Studio Stirling)

Bellroy’s leather Apple Watch straps give your smartwatch a classy, old-school touch

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Isn’t it funny that Apple sells its own leather case for the iPhone, a product that has literally no history with leather, and leather holders for the AirTag, a relatively cutting-edge device that isn’t really connected to leather… but the Apple Watch doesn’t have leather straps. Wristwatches and leather straps have been an unavoidable match for centuries, but it seems like something Apple just glossed over. If that fact somehow bugged you too like it’s bugging me, Bellroy’s got a clever solution. The smartwatch straps from Bellroy come with a durable elastomer base for comfort and to prevent slipping, but are then finished off with a wonderfully eye-catching eco-tanned leather top.

Bellroy Leather Strap for Apple Watch

The leather-elastomer blend gives the watch the best of both worlds. The leather brings back the watch’s most trusted strap material, giving the watch an authentically classic appeal, while the elastomer base on the strap prevents it from slipping on your wrist. Since the Apple Watch’s main hardware is fairly heavier than most regular watches, it succumbs to the effects of gravity, which is why having a rubbery base to the strap helps. A texture on the underside also promotes breathability, so the strap never makes your skin feel sweaty.

Bellroy Leather Strap for Apple Watch

The premium leather on top, however, comes with an eco-friendly veggie-tan and patinas over time, becoming uniquely imperfect as the leather ages… a phenomenon that contrasts beautifully to the Apple Watch, which always looks cutting-edge. It’s a contrast that feels weirdly comforting, if you ask me. It gives the technology a facet that feels much more human, one of aging… while still remaining classically timeless, because leather and wristwatches are truly an inseparable pair!

Bellroy’s Apple Smartwatch Straps come in 5 colors – Black, Basalt, Cobalt, Racing Green, and Toffee, and ship worldwide with a 3-year warranty.

Designer: Bellroy

Bellroy Leather Strap for Apple Watch

Bellroy Leather Strap for Apple Watch

Bellroy Leather Strap for Apple Watch

Bellroy Leather Strap for Apple Watch

Bellroy Leather Strap for Apple Watch

Bellroy Leather Strap for Apple Watch

Make Your Own Smoking Rocket Incense Burner

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Incense: if I burn enough of it at once it helps hide the fact that I haven’t taken the trash out in a while. And what cooler way to burn incense than inside a rocketship? Instructables user nomadecraftsanddreams created these detailed instructions for how to construct your very own leather rocket backflow incense burner. Prepare for blast-off!


For those of you unfamiliar, backflow incense cones have a small hole drilled through them that allows smoke to enter, cool down (becoming denser), then exit the bottom cascading downward, in this case making the rocket look like it’s smoking on its launchpad. Heck yeah, outer space, let me just stock up on astronaut ice cream and I’ll be right there.

The Instructable primarily consists of cutting leather to the appropriate shapes and sizes, then dying the pieces the color of your choice, and stitching them all together. It sounds simple enough, but I’ve never worked with leather before. Although I did own a pair of pleather pants in college that I wore too close to a bonfire and partially melted to my legs, so I’m pretty sure I’ve got this.

Harber London’s leather folio gives you a dapper way to store all your work accessories and tech!

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As functional as your laptop backpack, but infinitely classier, Harber London’s NOMAD is a nifty leather folio that’s perfect for storing all your work belongings in one, well-organized place. It comes tailor-made to fit the iPad Pro 11″ (and any of the smaller sizes too), and has dedicated spaces for your Apple Pencil, iPhone, charging cables, earphones, and other EDC accessories you’d need to carry around with you.

Handmade by expert craftsmen in Spain, the NOMAD comes fabricated from full-grain vegetable-tanned cowhide. It condenses your backpack into a smaller, sleeker sleeve you can either carry under your arm, around your shoulder, or even strung on your back as a backpack. The leather exterior extends to the interiors too, while the pockets for your iPad and phone come with a woolen inner lining to prevent them from getting scratched or damaged over time. Pouches, rings, zippered pockets, and tabs allow you to organize all your other stuff, from tech, to stationery, to EDC. Everything fits in its own compartment, allowing you to carry all your belongings with you while looking incredibly dapper! The NOMAD comes in 4 color variants (which promise to patina beautifully with time) and you can customize its size to fit your iPad perfectly!

Designer: Harber London

Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 40 is a delightfully retro-looking instant camera!

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At a glance, the Instax Mini 40 doesn’t look like the kind of camera you’d see in 2021. Although, given how we’re in an era of retro throwbacks, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 40 might have just nailed the retro-wave trend! With its black, boxy avatar, metallic accents, and that faux-leather texture that’s practically emblematic of vintage cameras, the Instax Mini 40 really takes us back to simpler times.

At its heart, the Instax Mini 40 is a pretty simple gadget. Unlike most cameras that come inundated with features, controls, and abilities to post stuff on social media, the Instax Mini 40 focuses more on having a very simplified UX… so all you need to really do is compose your shot, hit the button, and watch as your photo develops. The camera takes care of the rest, triggering the flash, auto-exposing the shot, and printing out your image with slightly soft details and a high contrast – just as you would expect with any Polaroid shot.

The instant camera’s simplified UX is evident in how you use the camera too. Press the large silver button on the front and the lens pops open, switching the camera on. The camera comes with two shooting modes too – a standard mode and a selfie mode. To toggle the selfie mode, just pull the lens out a little further and it changes its focal length, allowing subjects closer to the camera to be in focus. When you want to shut the camera, just push the lens back in and the Instax Mini 40 powers down.

Ultimately, the Instax Mini 40 may look like a serious retro-inspired camera, but it’s more of an entry-level camera meant for people who take the retro-trend seriously. Its body is all-plastic (and so are the metallic accents), making for a camera that does feel slightly on the cheaper side, even though it sports a $100 price tag. It shares most of its features with the $70 Instax Mini 11, albeit in a smaller, more 70-80s inspired design. The camera will be available later this month, and for an extra couple of bucks, you can even grab yourself a leatherette case with a shoulder-sling.

Designer: Fujifilm

Nomad’s iPhone 12 folio cases give you 360° protection and a card-holder without needing MagSafe

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Adding a circular array of magnets around your phone just so you can snap a card-holder to the back of it seems like a lot of effort, doesn’t it? Especially when we’ve already had great card-holding cases from third-party companies all along. Nomad’s iPhone 12 folio case gives your phone all-round protection while giving you space to hold not one, but three different cards.

Crafted from exquisite Horween leather draped on a shock-absorbing polycarbonate body (with a TPE bumper around the edge), the Nomad folio case covers both the back as well as the front of your iPhone. The flap on the front auto-wakes your phone when you open it, and comes with 3 card slots and 1 cash slot, turning your smartphone into a wallet too! Besides, the Horween leather grows a wonderful patina with time, showing signs of aging and maturing while your phone stays pristine and new on the inside! Available in all of the iPhone 12’s sizes, from the Mini all the way to the Pro Max… Oh, and it’s Magsafe compatible too, so you can use the Magsafe wireless charger to juice your phone!

Designer: Nomad

Click Here to Buy Now: $69.95 $48.95

Click Here to Buy Now: $69.95 $48.95

This Alien Facehugger Face Mask Keeps Viruses and Xenomorph Eggs In

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If you’re going to have to wear a face mask to keep from spreading germs, it might as well be something interesting, right? Well, I can’t think of anything better than this Alien facehugger mask to prevent the your nose and mouth droplets from escaping and infecting others. As an added bonus, it’s guaranteed to increase social distancing by others around you.

Of course, it does mean that you’re willing to subject yourself to xenomorph eggs being implanted in your belly, but that’s a small price to pay for public health, right? You might even get a little tap dance out of it. This awesomely creepy mask was made by UK leather artist Pirate’s Leatherworks, who did an amazing job that’s sure to have him swimming in custom orders for quite some time.

If you’re interested in buying one for yourself, keep an eye out on the artist’s Etsy shop, where no one can hear you scream.

[via Reddit via Geekologie]

Treat Your Dog to a Custom Leather Suit of Armor

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Depending on the breed of dog you have, they can look pretty tough all on their own. But if you’ve got a chihuahua or a pekingese and are looking to give your furry pal a meaner look, then may I suggest some leather dog armor.

Whether your you have a little yappy dog or a big old lap dog, Portland, Oregon’s The Kings Shilling will happily make your dog a custom suit of leather armor, fit just to their size and shape. Equipped with this armor, nobody is gonna mess with you or your dog at the dog park, or taking a walk through rough neighborhoods.

I like to imagine an army of dogs dressed in armor, ready to do battle against an army of similarly-equipped cats. Depending on the size of your dog, you could spend as little as $150, while armor for larger breeds can cost $600 or more. You can place your order over on Etsy. Now when is somebody going to make swords and battle axes for dogs?