You are right, dlynn, I can't believe how engrossed in the bag I became! Insane, really.
Thank you, *L*, for posting the shot for me, and to Anna for enlarging it
Thank you, kara - I will enjoy wearing it immensely! It's a nice change from the other bags I normally carry.
Thank you, o-luxurious and imlvholic - it's a fabbo colour: deeper than I'd imagined, which makes it look more dressy with the gold hardware, and is a nice contrast to the slouchiness of the general design of the Marco.
Thank you, ame: I do love the colour. However, like you, I was startled to have to glue the corner of the inside of the hard base of the bag! I don't baby any of my bags, I do use (but don't abuse) them, so I thought I should glue it in before the whole thing came off!
I love the raw edges of the upper flap, lizz - they won't crack with use as with other bags that have their raw edges coated. I had to glue the inner base's corners, not the inner flap, as I'd originally wrongly typed, sorry
When I first saw how far the corners had lifted on the inside flap/base, I thought I could just life the whole base off, and leave the base soft (as is my preference). However, when I peeped under the bits that had come to me already lifted, I saw that the studs on the base are actually attached to the bag not by screws, but with metal prongs that poke through the leather, then fold back on themselves - like the metal prongs on those old manila folder files. When I saw how the prongs were attached, I thought that I could not life the hard flap away completely, unless I had enough leftover soft leather (from other leather projects) to replace the hard base. I did not, so I thought I should glue back the lifted corners so the metal prongs of the studs don't get caught on my things inside and eventually (quickly) lift off and fall out.
My suggestion for to improve the base of these bags would be perhaps:
(1) present base to be sewn on around all the edges, as well as being glued (but this would make the bottom edge very stiff and possibly unwieldy), or
(2) present base to be glued on with stronger (super-flexible to avoid the base getting stiff and lumpy) glue or
(3) present base to be un-glued and simply placed as an optional thing stiffener inside the bag (I think I like this option along with option 4 best) or
(4) discard the present base completely, and simply glue and sew an extra layer of leather over the entire inside of the base of the bag (my favourite option because it'd provide strength as well as a little bit of structure that won't fall out or crumple)
Regardless of which of the above options Marco Tagliaferri chooses to go with for the inner base board of the bag, I feel all the base studs would benefit from a small circle or square/rectangle (1 inch square) of leather firmly glued immediately over the whole area of the prongs on the inside of the base of the bag: this will prevent the prongs from lifting and bending and the studs possibly detaching should the inner base lift/peel off.
I love the design and look and feel of the Marco Tag bags. I also like that it is unlined, as the leather presently seems to be very hardy, and no lining means the bag is lighter. It also means it could lose shape easily, which, although I am not fussed about (it's very unstructured to start with) may be a concern with those of us who are used to cloth linings in our leather bags.
However, I am wondering since the bag presently came to me - unlined with the inner-base lightly glued and lifted at all four corners, would Marco Medium sized bags perhaps be more appealing (not necessarily to more people, just more appealing to the present market) if they were priced closer to the USD$400 end than the USD$695 end?
Hope I've not offended anyone here: if I have, Mods, please edit as required!
Thank you, *L*, for posting the shot for me, and to Anna for enlarging it
Thank you, kara - I will enjoy wearing it immensely! It's a nice change from the other bags I normally carry.
Thank you, o-luxurious and imlvholic - it's a fabbo colour: deeper than I'd imagined, which makes it look more dressy with the gold hardware, and is a nice contrast to the slouchiness of the general design of the Marco.
Thank you, ame: I do love the colour. However, like you, I was startled to have to glue the corner of the inside of the hard base of the bag! I don't baby any of my bags, I do use (but don't abuse) them, so I thought I should glue it in before the whole thing came off!
I love the raw edges of the upper flap, lizz - they won't crack with use as with other bags that have their raw edges coated. I had to glue the inner base's corners, not the inner flap, as I'd originally wrongly typed, sorry
When I first saw how far the corners had lifted on the inside flap/base, I thought I could just life the whole base off, and leave the base soft (as is my preference). However, when I peeped under the bits that had come to me already lifted, I saw that the studs on the base are actually attached to the bag not by screws, but with metal prongs that poke through the leather, then fold back on themselves - like the metal prongs on those old manila folder files. When I saw how the prongs were attached, I thought that I could not life the hard flap away completely, unless I had enough leftover soft leather (from other leather projects) to replace the hard base. I did not, so I thought I should glue back the lifted corners so the metal prongs of the studs don't get caught on my things inside and eventually (quickly) lift off and fall out.
My suggestion for to improve the base of these bags would be perhaps:
(1) present base to be sewn on around all the edges, as well as being glued (but this would make the bottom edge very stiff and possibly unwieldy), or
(2) present base to be glued on with stronger (super-flexible to avoid the base getting stiff and lumpy) glue or
(3) present base to be un-glued and simply placed as an optional thing stiffener inside the bag (I think I like this option along with option 4 best) or
(4) discard the present base completely, and simply glue and sew an extra layer of leather over the entire inside of the base of the bag (my favourite option because it'd provide strength as well as a little bit of structure that won't fall out or crumple)
Regardless of which of the above options Marco Tagliaferri chooses to go with for the inner base board of the bag, I feel all the base studs would benefit from a small circle or square/rectangle (1 inch square) of leather firmly glued immediately over the whole area of the prongs on the inside of the base of the bag: this will prevent the prongs from lifting and bending and the studs possibly detaching should the inner base lift/peel off.
I love the design and look and feel of the Marco Tag bags. I also like that it is unlined, as the leather presently seems to be very hardy, and no lining means the bag is lighter. It also means it could lose shape easily, which, although I am not fussed about (it's very unstructured to start with) may be a concern with those of us who are used to cloth linings in our leather bags.
However, I am wondering since the bag presently came to me - unlined with the inner-base lightly glued and lifted at all four corners, would Marco Medium sized bags perhaps be more appealing (not necessarily to more people, just more appealing to the present market) if they were priced closer to the USD$400 end than the USD$695 end?
Hope I've not offended anyone here: if I have, Mods, please edit as required!
ush: I just couldn't get over the size. I'll most likely order the medium if it goes lower than $400.
I think nobody expected the price to go down like this.