Evelyne Wanjiku crafted a deep brown leather sling bag for Victoria, ensuring it was both stylish and practical for her daily needs. What's your wish?
A request by Victoria from Ruaka, Kiambu, Kenya
Leather sling bag that can fit a 16 inch laptop, deep brown in colour
The Journey of Creating Custom made leather sling bag
Negotiation & Planning
Custom made leather sling bag - design ideas and artisan proposals
Dear Victoria,
I am happy to receive your request for a laptop sling bag and would be happy to make it for you.
I have attached some images of. Bags we have made in the past at our workshop . Incase you like one of them let me know and we will be happy to recreate it. If not, let me know what design would be appealing to you and I will gladly follow your idea. The cost of the bags shown is 9,999ksh.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Hi Evelyne, your designs are really nice, but they are not what I asked for. From the pictures I sent, I want the sling bag in the second picture in the colour of the camera bag in the first picture
Thank you Victoria,
I am sorry I had not seen your photos. Now I have seen then and yes it is possible to make the laptop bag you attached in the dark brown you have shown.
In the 2 photos, those are the closest we have to the brown you like.
Let me know what you think of those.
Have a lovely evening.
Evelyne
I'll attach some photos so that I can confirm that you like what we have available in dark brown.
Hi Evelyne, sorry I've not been able to get back to you for a while. That brown colour in the screenshot is ok
Dear Victoria,
It's great to hear from you again.
Thank you for confirming the leather.
With regards to the interior, would you like it to have a lining? Or do you prefer the raw leather look where we put no lining but attach a pocket made of leather on the inside?
I prefer a pocket made of leather on the inside
Thank you for your response.
We will keep it simple with just a pocket.
Have a nice afternoon.
Evelyne
Crafting Process
How to make a Custom made leather sling bag – work in progress
Dear Victoria,
I hope you are well.
We have been working on getting the materials needed for your bag ready.
We start by creating a pattern for your bag, as you will see In the video above, we cut the yellow manilla, which will later be transferred to a hard board, then we cut the leather.
We will update you as the cutting progresses.
Have a lovely day
Evelyne
Hi Evelyne, I cant see any photos or video of the progress. So I can't really approve anything. I have not received any videos or photos
Dear Victoria,
I hope you have been well. Sorry looks like the videos of the pattern cutting didn't upload.
This is usually the first step. In this, you will see the yellow cards which is the initial pattern, then you will see the cutting of the leather.
We are already stitching it, and we will send the videos in the next step.
Have a lovely day.
Best regards,
Evelyne
Hello, so I have seen the videos and I like the progress so far. Thank you
Regards,
Vicky
Dear Vicky,
Sorry for taking long before giving a response.
We stitched your bag but made an error in design and it has to be redone.
I am assuming you want a bag that is exactly similar to what you sent.
We shall take some more time to redesign and share with you the progress.
Have a lovely day
Evelyne
Dear Victoria,
I hope you have been well.
Your bag was redesigned and is now ready for your approval.
It looks likeas shown on the photo
Please let us know what you think of it.
Morning Evelyne, I have not seen the photo you're talking about
Dear Victoria, sorry it appears there was a problem uploading that I didn't catch.
Kindly find the photos attached.
Best regards,
Evelyne
Hello Evelyne, Wow, I really love the bag, thanks for your hard work. Is there a way of partitioning it though? Just so that I can have atleast two different large pockets plus the other little pockets it already has? Is it also possible to make it a bit shiny like the one in the screenshot I sent? The colour's a bit too dull. I hope the changes will not mean starting all over again.
Hi Victoria,
Happy to hear from you and thank you for the kind words.
Unfortunately the changes you want would require us to make a new bag.
Please let us know if you would like us to proceed with making a new one to accommodate the changes.
Have a lovely day.
Best regars,
Evelyne
Hello, does that mean I have to pay for another one? And does it also mean you're getting new material or is it just possible to kinda polish or buff the leather?
Hi Victoria,
It's not possible to polish the leather. This can only be done at the tannery. We would have to get new leather and start afresh.
Please let me know if this is what you would like.
Have a lovely day.
Hello Evelyne,
Can I have more time to think abt this?There's something quite oldish about the bag that I still cant figure out. So let me think about it a little bit more and see if polishing is what it needs. I've been looking at the other bag I wanted replicated, bt it looks nicer than what we have here... So I'm a bit confused
Dear Victoria,
No problem at all. Take some time and do let me know what you think.
I look forward to hearing from you
Have a lovely day
Hello Evelyne, you did not say whether I'd have to pay again if you made a different bag
Hi Victoria,
I hope you're well.
Unfortunately, the cost of material is high and labour as well, so making a new bag will be costly. If you like, I can refund you the deposit, since I feel you don't really like the outcome of this one, and I'm sure Prisca might be able to get you a craftsman who can easily find the type of shiny leather you are looking for.
We don't seem to have anything shiny in our workshop for now, but will make an attempt to look for it locally. Incase we find it, we will alert you.
Let me knowbyour thoughts. Have a great day,
Evelyne
Hi Victoria,
I hope you're well.
I will not charge you for a new bag.
I'm currently looking around for shiny leather as you suggested. I will let you know once we have it
You had also suggested that you would like a partition.
This was not in the original bag and this means we have to use more leather and cut new patterns. So this will bring the cost higher. For these changes, we will add an extra cost.
Let me know also if you're ok with it not having a lining as creating a partition with leather only is more costly than creating one from fabric.
Please let me know if this ok with you.
Have a great day
Evelyne
Hi Evelyne, it's ok, I will take the bag is it is then. Sorry if I was too much trouble
Hi Victoria,
It's not alot of trouble. We need to give you what you like so we are currently looking for shiny leather and will alert you once we have it so we can start.
Have a lovely day.
Okay, I understand. I just didn't want to pay the extra cost, because I feel like what had been paid was already much. But if it wont be any trouble then it's alright
Hi Victoria,
It's alright, I'll make you shiny bag as per the original design with no partitions. So the will be no extra cost.
We will try sell the current bag so it's not a problem making you a new one once we get the leather.
See the attached photo, we have a small piece of that, what do you think of it? If you like it, we will get more of it.
Yes, I think it's slightly better than the previous one. So does it mean that if you dont get a buyer for the other bag then I also won't get a new one?
No I will make you the bag regardless of whether the one I have is sold or not.
Glad you like this shade. It's only a very small piece we have, so I'll send for a bigger piece enough for your bag and start working on it as soon as possible.
Have a great night
Okay, thank you
Dear Victoria,
Please check out this bag, let us know what you think about it.
I like it
Thanks for your response.
I will get it ready for delivery.
Let me know what you think once you receive it.
Have a great day
Good day,
The bag is now ready for shipping.
The Finished Unique Piece – Individually Handmade
Reference: ON005558E-28232
Detailed Cost Breakdown
| Price | |
|---|---|
| Cost of material |
76.04
|
| Cost of labour |
24.01
|
| Cost of packaging |
1.2
|
| Cost of delivery to local operations manager |
2.4
|
| Subtotal – payout to artisan |
103.65
|
| Customer acquisition costs (advertising etc.) |
10.37
|
| Handling fee Urban Change Lab |
10.37
|
| Shipping costs from Kenya to Kenya* |
5
|
| VAT (Kenya)* |
0
|
| Total |
129.39
|
*Shipping costs and VAT vary depending on your location.
Each price shown is based on a unique, custom request. Final prices may vary depending on materials, effort, and delivery location.
