Top of new rectangular box drying to shape with “Sol LeWitt” inspired design.

Leather boxes fall somewhere in between the functional world of wallets or iPad cases and completely non-functional work like hand made leather charging stations. I really like making boxes, and I now think that when I decide to work on them it is because my mind is somewhere between functional and non-functional. I’m almost never sure what I would do with one, but they make nice wedding gifts (at least I like to give them…).

New design for rectangular box with “Sol LeWitt” style carving.

Most things that I make I actually test and use to make certain that they really work, and as a result of that “real world testing” I have definite directions and ideas that I pursue to make them more useful and enjoyable. With boxes, I don’t have that push of practicality, so most of the design goal is in improving the construction. I’ve made many boxes that are fully mitered and hand sewn on diagonal edges. This is really a challenge and it is very difficult to get the stitches on the back side straight. As a result, I probably have more partially built boxes in my scrap box that just didn’t work out right than any other thing I make. I have recently come up with a new design for a rectangular box that is clean and easier to sew than the fully mitered versions (more pictures and some construction details are on my boxes page). I will be making several of these for the upcoming holidays.

New oval box.

This new simpler rectangular design won’t work on the oval box style that I like to make. Here is the latest oval box with mitered edges. The hand stitching is always tough on these, but I like the look when it works.