Jeans Upgrades

 - Growing up my idea of good denim was a pair of Levi's and I got my first pair in 2006. Before that it was local brands and hand downs. 

- Other names that come to mind from the 2010s include Pepe, United Colors of Benetton, and Lee. They all had great products and I wore them for years 

- After moving to Canada I was introduced to the idea of high quality denim (selvedge, organic cotton etc) thanks to the numerous mens fashion blogs I started following (esp during the pandemic)

- I limited my indulgence in this hobby to thrift stores and fb marketplace as I started acquiring new pairs of jeans

- Denim heads as they're called are just like any other enthusiast - obsessed about fading, loom heritage, blow-outs (why is that a good thing?) etc etc

- I choose to only focus on good quality denim that feels comfortable and looks good although I will admit the subtle fading of the dye in high stress areas does look nice.

- I'm also not hung up on Made in Japan/US etc but do pick up unique ones when I see them.

- I have managed to acquire a sizeable collection ij the last 5 years and these should last me several years. 

- Not all fit well - some are way too tight and some two sizes too big. Holding on to them all for now.

Photos below:

Update on leather accessory holder

 - The accessory holder I posted about sometime ago is doing quite well

- I'm able to attach my toques, baseball caps, and even the umbrella on bus and metro rides 

- I now have enough horween leather scraps to make several of these. Will start making them soon for family.

Back to Urban Sketching after almost 3 years

 

Airport Outfit Check

 

- Preferred apparel for short trips to the US/in Canada.

- I use thicker layers for long haul. 

Wet-molding leather for the first time: Phone cover for Pixel 10

 - I have always wanted to try wet-molding leather to make stuff and a phone cover was one of the things I wanted to try. 

- Having a dummy phone is essential though and a couple of youtube videos I saw long ago appeared to use aluminium blocks of the phone model. 

- It struck me recently to use a 3d printed model instead and I was lucky to find an STL file for my model (Google Pixel 10) online.

- I printed it with a 20% infill for more strength (to be able to withstand hammering)

- Soaked a natural veg tan leather piece I bought from Lonsdale leather (Vancouver) last year and used zip ties to stretch the leather over the mold.

- Used zip ties over the camera area which was a mistake. They left permanent imprints on the leather.

- Corners were tricky and this is where the amateur work is obvious. 

- Waited for the leather to dry for 24 hours before removing the zip ties and cutting the front bits.

- Was very shoddy with the corners and edges and almost put the whole thing in the garbage before realizing I don't need perfection this project. Flaws are fine.

- Used edge coat to cover up the bad cuts and also used some tokonole on the inside surfaces hoping to add some rigidity to the cover. Didn't help much but oh well.

- End result looks great from the back but is okay (for me) from the front.