Hi all,
I’m just really excited about how this one turned out for Simon one of the founders of BR-avo.com the best unofficial Bell&Ross dedicated form around (if you’re a Bell&Ross fan like me, you should check out BR-avo.com). I had done a strap for his military in vintage tan and Olive that he like a lot, but while he was watching the slide show of the build for that strap, he fell in love with the color of the natural leather and wanted to make him one. After I warned he that the strap will get darker with age and turn to a nice vintage tan in time, he was ever more convinced that he wanted one and gave me the go ahead.
Of course untreated leather would just be a dirt and stain magnet, so I put a couple layers of satin sheen clear top coat and a heavy coat of water proofing in order to try to avoid water spots.
He asked for the lightest natural vegetable tanned leather and black linen stitching – a bold combo as you can see (Simon’s got a great sense of style). The leather I use was the highest quality vegetable tanned leather made. Its cream white, has no flaws or scarring and is soft as my baby daughter’s bottom (sorry Amelie). My supplier keeps these hides wrapped in heavy paper to keep them white, as light exposure will begin the natural darkening process.
Here’s the build and final strap:
