A couple of years ago, I got my hands on a few small pieces of green leather from a local maker. I turned them into a handful of earrings and bracelets, and they were an instant hit. People couldn't get enough of the amazing green pieces.
Ever since then, I've kept my eyes peeled for more leather in that same shade. Finding scraps in a specific color isn't easy, so when I spotted a leather bag on Facebook Marketplace at the beginning of June, I knew I had to get it. It was almost the exact green I'd been searching for.
Even better, the bag was made by Portland Leather Goods, a company known for making high-quality full-grain leather bags. That meant I wasn't just getting the right color, I was getting beautiful, durable leather that would make gorgeous jewelry.
Once I picked up the bag, the transformation began.
First, I carefully took it apart by unpicking all the seams and removing the hardware. (I'm hoping to reuse some of those metal pieces for future keychains!) Then I trimmed away the sections with stitch holes, leaving me with seven usable pieces of leather ready for a second life.
To get the most out of every scrap, I laid my earring templates across each piece like a puzzle, shifting them around until I could use nearly every square inch. One discarded handbag turned into enough material for more than 68 pairs of earrings and 7 bracelets.
For this collection, I made some of my best-selling styles, introduced a couple of new designs, and even brought back a few old favorites like the triangle earrings that many of you may remember.
It's one of my favorite parts of what I do: seeing something that was headed for the back of a closet or worse, the landfill and turning it into something people are excited to wear.
I love knowing that every pair carries a little bit of history while giving beautiful materials a second chance.
You can browse the entire collection here: Portland Leather Goods Collection. Let me know what you think.