I learned leather craft from a few books but I felt kind of lonely just doing things I like all by myself. Thanks to Bubi Au Yeung, a figurine artist, who told me about Fungus Workshop, so I signed up for a beginner's class, two lessons passed and I got to know stuffs I didn't learn from books, plus knowing these passionate people who enjoy life and craft genuinely, which is kind of rare in a city like Hong Kong.
(The above photo went into Flickr Explore on 3rd July 2010)
Each classmate choose what he/she would like to do from a bunch of samples. I chose to do something in the line of stationery (later I will do a camera/laptop messenger bag). Their template was a notebook cover, but I decided to make it a GTD index card holder. After finishing it, I decided to add a notebook for note taking and an antique key to nostalgize the whole thing.
For all leather projects I did, improvisation in the last minute seems to add beautiful touches to a plain project. As you can see, the enclosure here doesn't wrap the back of the cover to the front, instead it leaves the back wide open so I can dangle the whole notebook or even hook it up to my messenger bag.
Instead of a Moleskine notebook, I put a Rhodia notebook inside just because of its bright orange color, to lighten up a bit. However, I hate the fact that the PU cover of Rhodia discolored after just 6 months from my acquisition of it. In addition, it just doesn't lie flat like a Moleskine does when opened. Anyhow, the discoloration did added the raw and battered look I like.
For those of you who are in Hong Kong and hunger for leather craft, I highly recommend Fungus Workshop. Hoiming and Baldwin, Grace and Philip, all four are friendly souls you can chat with and learn from. I am so happy Hong Kong is catching up with Japan and Taiwan in leather crafting. Keep it up Fungus!
