A Lot of Work for a Handle

This particular story began on a weekend on the Pacific coast last year, when Myron Glaser of Glaser Designs and I walked past some weathered picnic tables and noticed the complexity that time and the sea air had given the wood. Myron makes leather bags of course, and one of his particular areas of expertise is in the finish, which he obtains by hard work and a proprietary process. He thinks aloud that he might be able to do something very similar, we take photos of the tops and I think nothing more about it.

Fast forward twelve months, when I decide that the very nice shoulder bag that Glaser made for me last year needs a handle so I can carry my iPad when I wear a suit without a strap wearing on my jacket's shoulder. The process appears easy enough on the surface. The shoulder strap is on D rings on the bag, and, or so I think, it needs only different hardware to become detachable so I could replace it with the handle that Myron might be kind enough to make me. Guess again. After considerable discussion I am informed that the hardware I am asking for has been tried and found wanting as it might wear out in as little as ten years, and so Glaser must make a new, slightly larger, bag that will have both handle and strap.

Now this seems like the very definition of overkill, however I am eventually worn down and agree that a small bag of the style in the photo would do the trick, if it can carry Myron's new picnic table finish, which is not on the bag in the photo. That is going to be a lot of work for a handle, but watch this space.

Photo: Glaser Designs