I wouldn’t buy a bag of velvet, because I don’t think it would last long without looking ratty. Folding and refolding will leave marks – setting it down on the ground beside your chair in a restaurant will be using it as a Swiffer over the floor. My daughter bought a Juicy Couture bag and it looked like H#$% in a very short time. I told her if she’s going to spend that kind of money, ONLY buy leather. It lasts.

Several years ago I came up with an idea for the perfect travel back pack that would deter pick pockets. It had a network of steel cables inside the lining and the closure was against the back. I even went so far as to check out patents and meet with a patent attorney but as usual I just let the idea drop inspite of a tremendous amount of positive feed back. The point of this story is that I correctly predicted that my idea would be seen in the market place within a year and it was; so I think you are rather brave to expose the bag to the public.

I like the idea of applying nail heads to leather but I don’t have the machine for it. If sales on the velvet bag come through, I’ll probably buy one. Oh heck, what am I saying? I’ll buy one anyway, I’ve been meaning to for years.

Re: leather colors. I agree neutrals are more versatile but I didn’t have enough leather in all one color to make a solid bag except for the blue lamb and some deerskin that I love so much. A deerskin bag would be very expensive but more importantly, I’d have to source a consistent supply at a “reasonable” price before cutting into what I have. I also need another machine. My Adler doesn’t seem to like leather so much, my Mitsubishi takes it better but I’ve become sadly addicted to the servo and thread trimmer gadgets on the Adler and don’t want to sew on the Mitsubishi anymore. All that said, I do have plans for multi-colored leather bags. I need to visit my supplier in Albuquerque.

As far as positive praise is concerned, I’m equally if not more dubious. I learned one thing long ago I can’t ever forget. A bunch of us were in a hotel room and starting to do some product reviews in a casual atmosphere. The first person explained their concept, showed the garments etc. I was the first critique. I said the seams were too thick (they were) and there was a better way to get the same effect etc etc. Well, I had barely finished speaking when everyone else (all DEs) chimed in saying “I’d buy that” and the designer being critiqued, thus placated by the support of the bevy of her peers, took that as an invitation to discuss her inspiration blah blah blah. Forever lost was the opportunity to apply some sorely needed product improvements. Based on that experience, I don’t permit anyone to ever say “I’d buy that” during a product review. Actually, I announce beforehand that if someone says that, I’ll hand them a purchase order. Funny how no one says that if they’re required to place an order immediately.

It doesn’t matter how great everybody says something is. It only matters what they will pay for and how much they’re willing to allocate to the purchase. It was Ford who said that if he’d asked his customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.

Alison: The handles on the leather bag are very thin. This bag would be a poor choice if someone wanted a heavy duty bag.

RE the shopping bag pattern: Shopping bag plastic is thin, so the handles wrinkle up into something that can be easily gripped in a small hand. Do small-handed shoppers run into any issues holding the thicker handles of this model?