New!

We just added some new totes to the shop!

 New Bison Leather Totes! Unlined, riveted for strength, with one interior slip pocket.

Limited run totes made with heavy duck canvas and salvaged military tow straps! Two currently available.

Also, stop by and see our new revamped and updated website!

April 9 Update!

The shop has been updated with some new goodies! Stop by and have a look.

Assorted pouches are now available in both salvaged army canvas/leather and salvaged leather options. We have large, small, handwoven and suede. We even have a fun little hand woven change purse!

 After the popularity of the Salvaged Leather Envelope, we've decided to add a Bison Leather Envelope to the collection as well. Available in Brown or Gray.

Bonus: The Heist Vintage shop has also been updated!

Good Morning America

Our good friend, Rhea, who is one of Pharrell's back-up singers, appeared on Good Morning America this morning wearing her "R" Scrabble Piece Pendant!

Blood and Champagne

All images via my new favorite blog lurk, Blood and Champagne, (who I just now realized I've been stalking on pinterest for quite a while now).

To Austin and Back

Earlier this month I packed up my trunk and hit the road for a 3 day road trip adventure to Austin, TX for the SXSW Renegade Craft Fair. Day one was an 8 hour drive north to Tallahassee, the following day was a 6 hour drive to New Orleans and day three was 8 hours further to Austin.

 

This was my first official visit to New Orleans and I have to say that I truly fell in love with this city. I knew I had two visits to plan (coming and going) so I spent the first visit exploring the French Quarter (steering clear of touristy Bourbon Street) and the Ninth Ward, where I was staying. Everything in this city is so perfectly dilapidated. If you're an abandoned building junkie, New Orleans is the place for you. 

Recommendations: Adolfo's for dinner (maybe the best meal I've ever had), Cafe Du Monde for beignets (believe the hype!), Frenchmen Street for good music and R Bar for a friendly dive with some yummy drinks.

Next up: Austin, TX! Renegade was so much fun and I met a lot of really great people. Of course I ate a ton of tasty Tex-Mex, drank my weight in Topo Chico and went to some fun shows.

Recommendations: Torchy's Tacos (try the Migas taco for breakfast and the Fried Avocado taco for lunch...yum!), Maudie's for great Tex-Mex, Kerbey Lane Cafe for brunch and Uncommon Objects for some picking. Can you tell I spent most of my time eating my way through Austin?

New Orleans Part 2 brought me to the Garden District where I continued to eat and thrift my way through the city.

Recommendations: Tour Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 (I took a walking tour with Save Our Cemeteries and it was amazing), enjoy a crawfish dog at Dat Dog, hit up some great thrift stores and salvage yards. My favorites were Preservation Salvage Store and Green Project in the Ninth Ward and the Bargain Center in the Bywater Area. On my last night I spent an evening at The Country Club soaking in the hot tub and heated pool...just what I needed before hitting the road again.

(For the record, I did not eat that entire plate of fried shrimp and mac n' cheese alone!)

Shipping Info

We will be out of town for Renegade x SXSW, so all orders placed between March 10 - March 19 will not be made or shipped until after the 19th. Please take this into consideration when placing any orders during this time.

In other news, we have some great new styles hitting the shop after our return, including new woven leather items such as the clutches and change purses you see above. Be sure to stop by our booth at Renegade for a sneak peek!

Bison!

We now have bison leather card holders available in the shop! These are the same as the Salvaged Leather Card Holders you know and love, but are made in new bison leather. They are currently available in a beautiful light gray or a rich brown. I'm obsessed.

As of now, the Salvaged Leather Card Holders will only be available in black or white. The brown option will only be available in bison.

So why bison leather?

When I started the handbag portion of Heist, I made the decision to use only salvaged leather for a couple reasons. First off, I really like things with history. Second, I love turning something old and discarded into something new. And third, I have no desire to support factory farming operations. But as much as I love working with salvaged leather, it certainly left some things to be desired. 

Garment weight leather comes in many different weights, the heaviest stuff is what I like to use to make my unlined items. Black leather has proven pretty easy to find, but brown or any other colors...not so much. Also, with some recent expansion into more retail opportunities, I was craving something a little more consistent. And have you smelled new leather?! Yum.

I spent more time than I care to admit searching out a way to add some new leather to the line (ethically!) and it proved to be impossible. Like, not exaggerating, impossible. Between that beautiful, organic, free-range farm and the slaughterhouse are brokers and middle men and who knows what, which makes it impossible to track where a hide comes from, let alone to know how that cow was raised (or slaughtered). I know, I sound like a Portlandia episode, but these are the facts.

So to make a long story longer, I found bison leather. Free-range animals (if there's any doubt, take a look at a buffalo hide and note the marks and cuts of a range animal), that produce a beautiful leather that is 40% stronger than cow leather. Also, the hides I use are all American, not artificially embossed or treated and are tanned with earth friendly materials. Sold.

Is it the perfect solution? No. And some might find issues with using bison leather...or any leather at all. But these are compromises I can live with...especially when I see how beautiful these pieces are turning out. And that new leather smell? I assure you, it's like heaven!

And for all you vegans, have you seen our Vegan Card Holders yet??

To read more about the ethics of leather click here. To read more about the opaque nature of the leather industry, click here.