Brass cantle and goatskin with tan leather sporran

[Troglodyte]

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The last piece of this rather nice goatskin has now been formed into a thoroughly practical sporran, that knocks smart daywear up a notch or two.

Now don't round on me..! Brown leather and brass can only ever do pre-six PM duty.

The cantle is non-lacquered brass, and shows great inclination to patinate - so a charming 'antique' look to the thing can only be avoided with regular polishing. I am quite keen to see how quickly and well it ages into its 'vintage' look.

The tan leather matches just about perfectly the natural mottling of the fur, which is mainly a kind of ivory tone off-white.

Do you like the tassels?

I have come up with a new tassel mounting method (I have never seen such used on a sporran, or any other kind of bag) that eliminates the need for the usual half-knot, and it does a perfect job. But the tassel ends are my own take on the 'Chinese lantern' or pannier form with the closed ends.

Lined in a dark-brown suede so as to be kind and non-scratch to delicate items like smart-phone screens.

All my sporrans go on sale at a heritage museum that is a registered Scottish charity - so not only do they do their bit to conserve their native culture, they also help keep alive a on-the-red-list dying Scottish craft. I like that.

[Vikingnephilim]

I think it looks gorgeous. If you were able to do one without the tassels, I'd probably order one in black leather. I like my sporrans without them (on a personal note).

[kilted2000]

If that museum has an online shop, my bank account might be impoverished due to these wonderful sporrans! What heritage museum is it?

[Troglodyte]

If that museum has an online shop, my bank account might be impoverished due to these wonderful sporrans! What heritage museum is it?

It's the Glenesk Folk Museum - made up of some 30,000 artefacts that have been gathered together entirely from the glen since 1955.

These include items that other museums want us to send their way, like basket-hilt swords and 18th century plaids, illicit three-neck whisky stills and a few of Queen Victoria's dresses. The old Queen was a frequent visitor to the glen, and The Queen's Well is now a monument to one of her favourite picnic spots.

And, yes, there is an on-line shop. I source quality vintage Highland dress items (mostly sporrans from the 1930s - 1960s) and put my own-make sporrans alongside them.

You'll find the museum online, but they are in the process of changing over their till system, so the shop listings are a bit out of date at the moment.

In other words, your bank account might be safe until it's properly up and running again..!

[Troglodyte]

I think it looks gorgeous. If you were able to do one without the tassels, I'd probably order one in black leather. I like my sporrans without them (on a personal note).

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Is it this sort of thing you have in mind..?

There's no reason why something similar couldn't be made tassel-less...

[Vikingnephilim]

Sorry. I didn't explain well. The goat skin plus black leather trim if you will, the same style cantle, no tassels

[Troglodyte]

Sorry. I didn't explain well. The goat skin plus black leather trim if you will, the same style cantle, no tassels

Ah, got you...

Sorry, that's the last of this particular goatskin - and it's astonishingly difficult to find similar patterned furs.

I have to make my sporrans from what I can find - but occasionally I'm lucky...