A bit of “Street Style”

 

Back in August, one of our favorite customers, Rachael Renee, was stopped on the streets of Portland and asked about her style.  It just so happened to include a custom  Moxie & Oliver leather cuff! Here’s the blurb her husband sent along from the Portland Mercury.  And, I love seeing your Moxie & Oliver pieces in action, so if you have a photo of yourself wearing/using/enjoying one of our pieces please send it! It’s the reward for all of our hard work!

*          *          *

• CAROLINE SMITH
• Rachael Renee

"My overall style is country inspired because I'm an equestrian. The bracelet was custom made for me by Moxie and Oliver in Seattle. The necklace was my grandmother's. I wear two watches because one was my grandmother's on the other side. The other watch I actually use. Also, I 'm really embarrassed about my shoes but I broke my toe. They are the only ones that are comfortable right now!" -Rachael Renee (check out her amazing band at and her photography.)

Three Weddings

 

 

If you ever need an extra wedding guest (yeah, because who ever needs MORE people at their wedding?) invite me! I love weddings.  Totally, totally, love them.  My assistant has, in the past, accused me of “loving love” and I suppose she’s right, I do. 

I fell in love young-ish (21 or so) and knew immediately it was love.  We met online so I can’t say it was love at first sight, but at first sound.  One snowy January day when the busses weren’t running and I couldn’t get to our date, I called my now husband and left a message. He had me at “You’ve reached the voicemail…”

I still love the sound of his voice.  And he’s adorable, so that’s a bonus, and it means we make really cute children.  But I digress – I’d marry him all over again, not just because I love him so much, but because I love weddings, too.  The celebration of love and family, pretty dresses, lots of presents, food, cake, wine, dancing… what part of this sounds bad?

So since I can’t go to weddings every weekend, I’ll settle for making wedding gifts.  Recently I made a custom wine tote for one of my mom’s employees, and a former co-worker.  He’s a graphics guy, so of course he had a logo made for the wedding.

For a wedding that happened this past weekend, in Idaho, we first did the ten flasks on the left for the bridesmaids.  Each is a limited edition with our “Pressed” leather with an Idaho applique on the back.  The bride was following the progress on Instagram, and showed her smoke-jumper husband.  He decided to go for a set of woodgrain ones for the groomsmen!

This last piece is a valet tray that I made for a high-school classmate to give one of her friends as a wedding present. She and I hung out in the same circles when we were in school together (and I won’t say how long ago that was) but we weren’t close.  Working with her on this piece gave us a chance to reconnect – we both have small children, and are artists married to non-artists.  She is, of course, across the country from me but smart, creative, baby-loving people are always welcome in my life and I am glad that my work has given us an excuse to reconnect.

xo

c

Free Flask Friday!

 

Today is an exciting day – it’s the first “Free Flask Friday” at the Moxie & Oliver studio.  For the last ten years I’ve been making hundreds, maybe thousands, of handmade leather and stainless steel flasks.  And because drinking is always better with friends, what better thing do do with these little beauties than to give some away?

The flask above was inspired by Cool Material’s month of beer quotes. Many of my flasks over the years have been personalized by customers with quotes of their choosing, but seeing a great collection of beer quotes inspired me to pick some of my own.  Oscar Wilde has some great drinking quotes, but this one from Bruce Tomlinson appealed to my hippy sensibilities as well.  There are a lot of spiritual people up here in the Northwest – no wonder we have so many craft distilleries!

This 4oz flask is the first we’ll give away. It is the Friday Flask with one of our favorite drinking quotes on it, in a beautiful blue color:

“Your body is a temple, you should keep some spirits in you.” – Bruce Tomlinson

To enter to win, just do the following:

1.  Follow us on Instagram (@moxieandoliver) and re-post the picture of this flask with tag #FFFmoxieandoliver

2.  Follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/moxieandoliver) and share the picture of the flask with tag #FFFmoxieandoliver

3.  Follow us on Twitter (@moxieandoliver) and re-tweet our give-away tweet, with tag #FFFmoxieandoliver

Each # 1-3 above is good for one entry, and you can enter once on each platform (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) each week. Winner will be announced on all three on 7-24-14.  Good luck. 

In good spirits!
C

Forget the Wedding Registry

You know that thing the bride and groom spent so much time on? Forget it.  Throw it out.  Totally ignore every wedding wish they had.  Get them something handmade instead.  Why? Because unlike a cup, a fork, or a towel that will blend in with a sea  of sameness, every time they see the handmade gift you picked out for them, they will think of you.  And they will smile. Doesn’t a smile sound better than being forgotten?

So, now that we’ve ditched the registry, what to get? I advocate for something that they will use every day, preferably together.  That is why these little leather valet trays are such a splendid gift.  You can personalize them – add initials or a custom inscription – and every day when the bride and groom come home and put their keys, cell phones, and other odds and ends in the tray they will think of you.

Smaller trays are also available, for just the wedding rings.

Happy Summer!
-c

 

www.moxieandoliver.com

caitlin@moxieandoliver.com for custom requests

Benefits of Vegetable-Tanned Leather

At Moxie & Oliver, all of our products are made with the utmost quality and precision. You can be sure your item will last and only get better with age and wear. Every product is made from vegetable-tanned leather—a traditional and natural method of tanning hides.

Vegetable tanning is one of the oldest methods used by leather designers for thousands of years. This traditional craft process uses tannins and other natural ingredients found in wood, bark, and plants to convert the animal skin to leather. The raw hide’s transformation into leather occurs slowly, generally over one month, within tanning pits or wooden drums. The final product is a warm, rich brown color that is durable and susceptible to carving or stamping.

These are some of the many benefits of vegetable-tanned as opposed to other forms of leather tanning:

Natural. The process of vegetable tanning showcases leather in its most natural state because it involves only organic ingredients from plant materials and vegetable matter. It’s the only form of tanning that retains the natural markings of the animal hide, giving the leather unique characteristics.

Environmentally friendly. There is no use of chemicals in this process, only natural ingredients. Because of this, any leather products that have been vegetable tanned can be recycled.

Color. The tone of leather that has been vegetable-tanned is rich, warm, and vibrant. These blends of brown come from the natural materials such as bark and plant materials. One of the most unique aspects of this type of leather is that the color changes after being exposed to different elements such as light and oils, giving it a life that gets better with wear.

Value. Because of the time consuming process, vegetable-tanned leather is more valuable than chrome-tanned or other types of leather. It is usually sold at a higher price because of its intricate craft process, natural qualities and ability to age well.

All Moxie & Oliver products are made from vegetable-tanned leather, which is only the best type.

Start shopping and get your quality vegetable-tanned leather product at Moxie & Oliver!

Logo Love

 

I get many requests for logo work.  Here are a few examples – the top one of a custom Delta Theta Sigma Key Chain, the bottom of a Money Clip for King Concrete.

Yes, I can do your logo, too!  Send me an email – caitlin at moxieandoliver dot com - with your request.

xo

c

Daddy’s Wallet

If I didn’t make wallets for a living I imagine I would find it really frustrating that my husband keeps losing his wallets.  Then finding them again – this most recent time in my daughter’s sock drawer.

It always gives me an excuse to design a new wallet style, which I enjoy.  The trouble with him is always the pattern.  He’s simple in aesthetics – likes solid colors, and maintains his favorite color is gray.  His only request is a wallet that folds.

So I altered the “Mighty Wallet” to create the “Mighty Fold” Front Pocket Wallet It’s about the same size when closed, and has four card slots on the inside with space behind for more cards or cash. 

My favorite part about this one is the inscription.  A quote from our almost four year old daughter:

“Daddy works hard for the money.”

I don’t think he’ll lose this one.

-Caitlin

 

(ps: The Mighty Fold Wallet in the Smokey Pattern is available at www.moxieandoliver.com and can be personalized with up to 200 characters of your choosing)

Color of the Year

I don’t know how you choose the color of the year at the beginning, but Pantone does.  The 2014 Color of the year is Radiant Orchid and this, my friends, is my Orchid Belt. Beautifully detailed carving with a collection of orchids at the back, trailing vines, and another orchid on the tip for a little visual excitement from the front.  Wood grain background, and of course, a bit of Radiant Orchid in the flowers.

Enjoy, and wear radiantly!

-Caitlin

Two custom wallets

I’m trying to dig my way through all the pictures of pieces I took these last few months.  It’s taking longer than expected.  It takes so much less time to click a shutter than it takes to process and post the image.

As I was digging through I found these two trifolds.  The top one with an electric guitar, the bottom with a road bike. Both with initials, both gifts, and both clearly reflecting the passion of the recipient.  Possibly, what the recipient does with his (or her) money, too.

I thought they looked sweet together, so I wanted to post them.  Of course if you have an idea for a custom leather wallet, send me an email (caitlin@moxieandoliver.com).  I’m happy to help.

Now, back to sorting images.  Yikes.

-Caitlin

One drink is never enough

 

When we were in Baltimore and people would comment on the different size flasks – the key chain flasks being so tiny that it couldn’t possibly hold enough of anything, all the way up to the 12oz flasks that they couldn’t imagine drinking all of – I would laugh just a little to myself.   Those key chain flasks wouldn’t get me drunk, but they’d give me a buzz (after spending the last 4.5 years either pregnant or with small children, my alcohol tolerance is pretty sad). And that 12oz flask, well, that flask doesn’t hold a candle to the flask I made a holster for right before we left.

I made a flask holster, and belt to match, for a half gallon flask.  Yeah, that’s right.  This baby holds 64 shots, so if drinking is literally a team sport where you’re from, it’s perfect for you.  And in that case, someone needs a holster to match. After all, carrying a flask like that in your hands is not only awkward, it’s heavy!  So here’s the solution a customer came up with, and I couldn’t say no.

And the belt to match, because no flask holster would be complete without a matching tire tread inspired belt.  All pieces are made by hand in my Seattle studio out of full-grain vegetable tanned leather.  The belt is hand carved and the flask holster is branded.  The holster has snaps on the back for easy on/off and the edges are stitched by hand.  The finish is antique brown.

Yes, I can do holsters for smaller flasks.  But this baby is a show-stopper.  I would love to see a picture of it in action!

xo

c

A Sustainable Diaper Bag

 

I think a lot about sustainability.  My husband says I’m a hippy, I just think I’m practical.  It is so frustrating to buy something and have it fall apart. When my daughter was born we got two diaper bags – on one of them, the zipper broke within weeks, then the lining tore (which is why I don’t line my bags!  Lining fabric is notoriously a weak point in a purse).  On the other one, the space where you keep the wipes broke.

I understand not every piece put out there is perfect – sometimes stuff goes wrong, and that’s okay.  So, for the sake of argument, let’s say the diaper bags that I bought hadn’t broke, and I hadn’t given them to Goodwill.  After the kiddo is out of diapers, then what do you do with them? You’ve just spent some good, hard-earned cash, on something with lots of wonderful things like slots for diaper wipes and bottles, but you don’t carry those things anymore. So – to Goodwill it goes!

Since the diaper bags that I bought for my first kiddo broke before the second one came, I decided to just make myself a big ol’ purse instead.  The style that I came up with was the Travel Bag – based on a vintage stewardess bag. It is made out of a lightweight leather (2-3oz) so it doesn’t weigh much on it’s own, but since it is vegetable tanned leather and hand-stitched, it’s more than durable enough to outlast whatever you decide to throw at it. 

For a baby shower for a friend who is having twin girls, I designed the “Nesting” diaper bag/travel bag with little birdies on it. I filled it with some of the mommy essentials – Miracle Blankets, Sock Ons (amazing things – no more lost socks!) and some Planet Wise Wet/Dry bags, a Planet Wise changing pad, and a set of “buy one” “get one free” onesies.  There were a few other things – some wraps and slings from Baby Ette – and a nursing necklace from Kangaroo Care – that didn’t make the photo, but went in a separate package (and yes, they all would have fit in this bag!).

The true beauty of this piece is that once you’re done toting around stuff for your little peeps, you can use it as a purse. It’s still lightweight, it’s still durable, and it doesn’t scream “BABY!!!” to everyone who sees it.  Sustainability in my book is sometimes best described as “buy once, buy it for life” and when you’re able to have a single bag that can be both your “mommy” bag and your favorite purse, doesn’t that fit the bill?

xo

c

ISO The Perfect Belt (the answer)

 

I’m always asked how I got started in leatherworking, and it’s a simple story, with roots in necessity.  I needed a belt. 

After college I started working at a law firm.  I wanted to be a lawyer, or so I thought, and figured I ought to at least try it out before committing to going to law school.  Yeah, possibly the best thing I ever did.  I got a job as a paralegal in a somewhat traditional law firm that actually had a dress code. It included provisions about the length of your skirt, nylons, and the like.  I don’t think they ever measured my skirt length, but I do remember getting a talking to on more than one occasion about not following the dress code.

So if there’s one thing I really hate it’s being told how to dress.  I was determined to find a way to push the outer limits of the dress code without being in violation. I was being defiant in a way I couldn’t get in trouble for.  I probably still had a bit of youthful rebellion left in me (which only drove me to do creatively rebellious things, like paint flames on my car). 

My boyfriends mother had given me a belt from her youth that I loved – it was probably from the 70s or something – but it was falling apart.  It was one of those belts that was multiple pieces of leather stitched together with a stiffener in the middle, and it just wasn’t going to get me through daily wear.  I looked and looked, but every belt I found was cheaply made and boring.  I did a post a while ago on how to choose a leather belt that will last and once you know what to look for, you’re not going to find many belts other than mine that will fit the bill!

In my creative solution finding, I bought a belt strap, some knives, paint, and dye and got to work.  My first belt was a simple black belt with roses (the photo is of a collar in the same pattern) and the second was one I called the Kitty belt, with carved dogwood flowers. I guess it sparked, or renewed, a love affair with leather.  It’s been ten years and I still have those first belts, and they look just as good as the day I made them.

The last few times I’ve done a show people have asked about belts, so this year, I’ll be sure to have some in stock.  Guaranteed to make you smile, and outlast your jeans, think of these belts as heirlooms.  You can pass these belts on to your children (or your son’s girlfriend) and they won’t wear out.

xo

c

Hey Jude - Happy Birthday!

I’ve been keeping this piece a little bit of a secret, since I know as soon as it hits my Facebook feed, the new owner will know it is for her.  Or, she’ll be tempted to ask me if she can buy it.  This Jude Travel Bag is a gift for my stepmother for her birthday – she has been a wonderful supporter (both by purchasing M&O goods and by taking care of my little girl so I can make them) over the last few years and she deserves something special that was designed just for her.

So, inspired by Hawai’ian quilts, I made this bag.  The pattern has little turtles (which she loves) worked into a symmetrical floral pattern.  I didn’t want the piece to be too turtle-y, so the flowers and vines seemed like a wonderful way to incorporate them into a pattern.  The colors are yellow, green, sage, white, bronze and antique black has brass hardware.  It’s available, as a made-to-order, piece through MOXIEandOLIVER.com if you’d like one of your own.

xo

c

Match Made in Leather

I am a bit of a sucker when it comes to shoes – if someone sends me a coupon for shoes in my lovely little inbox, I click, I look, I try to figure out what shoes I need, and sometimes I fall in love.

My shoe lust of the week are a pair of Dr. Martens.  This surprised me more than I can say - I haven’t worn Docs since the 90s when Seattle Grunge was the thing, and frankly I never thought I would again.  They’re wonderful shoes, but I’d traded in my grunge look for something a little more contemporary.

Then I saw these….

And I couldn’t help but think that these little shoes would go oh so well with my Poppy Garden Lace Cuff….

And both just in time to usher in spring!

Of note – from a shoe obsessed gal with a little too much knowledge about these things, the Dr. Martens Ceri are made in Vietnam, unlike the traditional UK made Docs.  They’re also a cement construction shoe, where the sole is glued directly to the base of the upper – it’s not welted sole.  The reason I mention this is because my stepmother recently showed me a pair of Keens where the sole just split.  Most Keens are not welted, either, so they’re impossible to re-soul.  Because the sole is so thin on the Docs, I imagine that if you wore it out you could have another sole added, though you couldn’t remove the existing one and have it replaced.

More on soles later, when I stop wanting to write “soul”.

xo

c

Oh. My. Words.

 

I think the picture says it all.  One of my personalized leather guitar straps is being used as the vehicle for a wedding proposal this Valentine’s Day. I’m honored, thrilled, and nervous – please let me know how it turns out!  GOOD LUCK!!

xo

c

Custom Tool Box Handle

 

From the customer appreciation photo/ anything you can make I can make leather file, here are some photos of a tool box handle I recently created for a customer.  It was a re-make of the old handle, and she even sent me the hardware so that I could use the original, slightly rusted and beautifully weathered, hardware for the handle.  Attached are the photos she sent. The signature is from the original owner of the tool box, taken from his passport. You can see the side-by-side comparison in the second to last picture.  Like it?

xo

c