New Teddy Bear Charm

New Teddy Bear Charm

Since I already have a Kitten charm, I could just add this Teddy Bear as a new product to my collection of bag charms and keychains. However I wanted the new Teddy Bear to be a bit different, even though the Teddy I made two years ago was already cute.I looked around for inspiration, but could not find a suitable template. That is, until I visited a kitchen tools store and found a cookie cutter (4×4 cm), which

A minor writing error with major consequences

A minor writing error with major consequences

A story about a minor writing error with – literally – major consequences.

Last month I wanted to replace my old circular shaped punches. Since I have a knee-lever-press, I have replaced some of my old punches by modern ones (read more about this press in one of my earlier blog posts).  The two punches I wanted to order this time, have a diameter of 32 MM and 35 MM. Sizes I often use for personalised tags for bags and zipper pouches. So I mailed my supplier and asked him to make new ones for me.This ordering by mail I have been doing for years now, and always works perfect. Only this time I am afraid I was already thinking about my coming wintersport holiday, and instead of MM, I wrote CM behind the number.
A minor writing error, but what consequences!  A big surprise was waiting for me when I came to collect my punches: these punches were huge and did not fit im my handbag😳

Fortunately my mistake has a happy end: without extra charge my supplier send me a couple of days later the punches I originally had in mind. Great service!

Coming weeks I will think about what to do with the large circular punches. I have noticed I can easily punch the large cirkels by hand ( see photos) so I am thinking of selling

Christmas 2017 gift ideas (4): leather notebooks

Christmas 2017 gift ideas (4): leather notebooks

Last week I was busy making these notebooks especially for Christmas. With so many colors and leather types you will always have something original in your pocket! Apart from the colorful series, I make an exotic series too. Avid sketchers will love the beautiful 140 gsm paper. The 9 x 14cm (3.5″x 5.5″) size will mean it is easy to carry around, you will never miss a moment to jot down your thoughts or make a quick

Christmas 2017 gift ideas (3) : cable organizers

Christmas 2017 gift ideas (3) : cable organizers

In this 3rd post about Christmas ideas I would like to focus on my cable organizers. The cable organizer is a very popular item in my shop. These cable organizers are great stocking stuffers. They always come in handy and are available in all kinds of shapes, and many color and leather combination. I even make cable organizers from cork (you can read more about this material in an earlier blog about cork)

Last year

Christmas 2017 gift ideas (2): keychains and keyfobs

Christmas 2017 gift ideas (2): keychains and keyfobs

In this second post about gift ideas, I like to show some keychains I made this year, especially the  keychains with embossed stars. The key fobs are made from thick, yet supple vegetable tanned leather and embossed with stars using a hot foil press. These star keyrings can be monogrammed as extra service.

For star lovers, I specially made a series of keychains with large stars. They can also be attached to your bag

Christmas 2017 gift ideas (1); Zipper pouches and zipper wallets

Christmas 2017 gift ideas (1); Zipper pouches and zipper wallets

In this first post about gift ideas for Christmas 2017 I start with a very practical Christmas gift: my zipper pouches and zipper wallets
The zipper pouches and wallets are flat and compact. They are easy to carry in a fold-over clutch or a wristlet. Use them as an extra storage for keys, coins, make up, credit card or any other essential you want to take with you on a night out. I made them in all kinds of

Travel journals for summer

Travel journals for summer

Spring is in the air and travel plans will soon be made.

I bought a beautiful piece of leather, random printed in pastel tones. Made a few travel journals from it and pained the straps in light blue and pink to combine with the colors  in the leather. Perfect colors for this summer of 2017.

Apart from this Pastel series, I also made an exotic series: in crocodile, lizard and snake skin embossed prints.
Avid sketchers

Christmas gift ideas 2016 (3): cable organizers

Christmas gift ideas 2016 (3): cable organizers

In this Christmas ideas post I would like to focus on my cable organizers. Cable organizer is a very popular item in my shop and people love to gift these! They always come in handy and are available in all kinds of color- and leather combinations. Cable organizers are great stocking gifts. My heart-shaped cable organizers are even more popular: people love to gift these! I even started to paint and block print them

Christmas gift ideas 2016 (2): zipper wallets and zipper pouches

Christmas gift ideas 2016 (2): zipper wallets and zipper pouches

In this second Christmas blog again a very practical christmas gift: the zipper wallets and zipper pouches  QUARTER.
The Quarter wallet is flat and compact. It’s easy to carry it in a fold-over clutch. Use it as an extra storage for keys, coins, iPod nano, credit card or any other essential you want to take with you on a night out. I made them in all kinds of leather, even in wool felt. The zipper wallet

Christmas gift ideas 2016 (1) Drawstring bags

Christmas gift ideas 2016 (1) Drawstring bags

Need an original and fun way to wrap your gifts? These small leather drawstring bags make gift-wrapping fast and fun. Simply place your gift in the bag and tie the end shut. Nothing to throw away after the present has been opened, as the cute drawstring pouch is a present in itself!
It’s perfect for your Christmas gifts, or if you like to DIY, assemble some herbs for an aromatic pouch, or fill it with

Tasselmania 2.0

Tasselmania 2.0


In a blog in August 2015, I told you about the tassels I made for a client in the US. You can read all about this order here. Since then my husband has made some “tassel cutters” and tassel making is even more fun than before. Also the proces is now more like team work. I place and replace the cutter on the leather piece and my

Gift Wrapping 2.0

Gift Wrapping 2.0

A few months ago I posted a blog about gift wrapping my items. (Read about that at the bottom of this page.). But before I wrap small or delicate items in the gift bags or sachets, I wrap them in very thin foam for protection, as you can see in this pic below.

This foam, and other packaging materials, I recycle from packages and parcels I received myself. I have done this for many years. Lately however I frequently

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2016!

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2016!

I hope you managed to do all of your Christmas shopping and are ready to sit back and relax.

I have had some busy and eventful weeks, but was not only busy with sending the last Christmas parcels… Last November I suddenly needed immediate eye surgery to fix a problem with my retina. Fortunately everything went really well. During my last checkup my surgeon was quite satisfied with the result and of course

Christmas gift ideas 2015 (3) : cable organizers

Christmas gift ideas 2015 (3) : cable organizers

Again a selection of my items in my shop this week to help you pick and choose beautiful hand crafted items for your loved ones this Christmas. In this post I would like to focus on my cable organizers.


The cable organizer is a very popular item in my shop. These cable organizers are great stocking gifts. They always come in handy and are available in all kinds of color and

Christmas gift ideas 2015 (2): drawstring bags

Christmas gift ideas 2015 (2):  drawstring bags

In one of my recent blog posts I wrote about the little bags I made for gift-wrapping my handmade items. With Christmas on the way customers need an original and fun way to wrap their gifts too.
These small leather drawstring bags make gift-wrapping fast and fun. Simply place your gift in the bag and tie the end shut.
Nothing to throw away after the present has been opened, as the cute drawstring pouch

Christmas gift ideas 2015 (1): traveler’s notebooks

Christmas gift ideas 2015 (1): traveler’s notebooks

It’s time to show you my gift ideas for Christmas 2015.
I’d like to start this year’s gift ideas with my popular leather traveler’s notebooks. Last week I was busy making these notebooks especially for Christmas. With so many colors and leather types you will always have something original in your pocket! Apart from the colorful series, I make an exotic series too. Avid sketchers will love

Put a ribbon on it!

Put a ribbon on it!


When I started making my first  smaller accessories , the last thing on my mind was packaging. The first items I sold were custom wrapped by me, but without a personal touch.  I wanted to give my customers that sense of excitement when you receive a gift and open it. When you buy something on the internet, it is like buying a present for yourself.  So I looked for a better and more beautiful solution for

Watermarking my photos

Watermarking my photos

This year I noticed that some of my photos were used by other people and businesses. The first time I came across one of my photos, it was on Alibaba. I immediately knew it was taken from my Etsy shop, because it even included my original description. (See my original in my Etsy shop here )

It made me question the authenticity of  a lot of other photos on internet shops. A much more worrying thought was, what

DIY tassel cutter

DIY tassel cutter

Making tassels is fun to do.  It’s a great and creative way to use all of the small pieces of leather that remain after making leather bags. Every tassel can be made differently, not only in color of leather or in size, but also in shape. You also can combine different kinds of leather, as you can see in the first photo of this blog

A few weeks ago, after an afternoon of cutting tassels for a custom order,

Tasselmania

Tasselmania

A client in the US showed interest in my leather tassel key chains and asked if I could make a small collection in different colors. Because I always prepare for  the Christmas rush and I was planning to make more tassels anyway, I replied that I’d loved to do this. So I looked in my stock for some nice colors and started cutting.

After an afternoon of cutting, I had more than twenty pre cut tassels in bright

Christmas in July 2015 on Etsy

Christmas in July 2015 on Etsy

Christmas In July (CIJ)  is an Etsy community driven event that is held every July.  This year the event will last from July 1st to July 12th. A worldwide team was established to share ideas, tips and goals for Etsy shops to get actively involved in Christmas in July. During this event many Etsy sellers have special offers.
Especially for this years’ Christmas In July I will be offering a free

Personalizing handmade items

Personalizing handmade items

Personalizing an item is a wonderful service to offer and is absolutely fun to do! Customers who prefer handmade products are, more than other people, looking for something special, unique. Personalizing a handmade item turns it into the ultimate gift.

I already had a branding tool  for branding my name  in my products, but I had no single letters for this machine. Therefore a handmade monogrammed item was not

Burnishing leather

Burnishing leather

Burnishing leather edges is a great way to make a leather project look amazing. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, burnishing is basically polishing the rough edges of  (bridle) leather. But before burnishing you have to round the edges with a edge-beveler, I have them in different sizes. Than sand the edges with fine sanding paper., and wet the edges (water with a little saddle soap, or gum tragacanth) before

Flowering bulbs

Flowering bulbs

Last week I went for a stroll on the beach in Noordwijk. A beach close to the famous “Keukenhof” and  the village where I live. It was a warm and sunny day early in spring.
When I drove up to it, I passed flowering bulb fields that lie behind the dunes. Outstretched colorful fields with flowering hyacinths, tulips and daffodils.
It’s a shame you can not smell the scented hyacinths on this blog

DIY hearts (1)

DIY hearts (1)

Earlier I told you about the heart punches I designed and had made. I am very enthusiastic about the shape of these hearts. During the last months I had a lot of them punched in different sizes and in a variety of  colors. Especially for this I recently bought a vintage book-press so I can stamp the hearts myself. Still one at a time, though ;-), but they punch out beautifully. The smaller ones I punch myself, but for the largest heart I need more muscle, so I call on my husband to lend me a helping hand.

I make beautiful items from them such as cable organizers and key-rings. Besides those, I use the smallest of the hearts as little gifts or as a tag on a clutch.  Invariably I receive very enthusiastic feedback from clients when their parcel is wrapped with a little heart as decoration, or when their clutch has a heart-shaped tag with their initials stamped in it.
It made me think: why not sell these heart for DIY projects? At this moment I am working on creating enough stock for my shop so I can sell them. Want to know how this project continues? Be sure to check back regularly!

Rinarts featured in Fur Sie!

Rinarts featured in Fur Sie!

About two months ago the editor of the German women’s magazine  Für Sie contacted me. They wanted to publish one of my items, a notebook in snake print,  in their February edition. Their theme of the month was snake prints (Falsche Slange), as an alternative for genuine snake skin. Needless to say I was extremely flattered and immediately sent the requested photo to the editor.

It’s not the first time I get requests from magazines, last year I got a similar request from an English magazine. Unfortunately that time my items didn’t make the edit, of course I wondered whether this time Für Sie would publish my photo. And they did! Below the Für Sie page on which my notebook is featured (bottom-left) and a detail.
For more pictures and other notebooks have a peek in my shop here

Made myself a new bag

Made myself a new bag

After 5 years of making bags for others, I finally made a bag for myself. After a lifetime of bag shopping, I had every model and color my heart desired.  I could not fathom ever needing another bag, even when creating beautiful bags myself. ‘I’d rather make them for others,’ I frequently replied when someone asked me about it.

Fast forward to the moment I bought myself a lush woolen dress in a beautiful beige-brown color with a grey melange. Gracefully combined with right color pants and ankle boots and completed with a red-brown wooden brooch and my red spectacles, I had a superb combination.  But alas, none of my bags had the right color to make my outfit shine. A quick search through my stock, and there it was: a small piece of leather, a remnant of a BIG tote I made last year for my daughter. Combined with a piece red leather this would be my new bag!

The bag has a red drop-in pocket inside and a zipper pocket in front for easy phone access. As you can see, I could not resist to add some extra red details.
My sister-in-law was quick to spot the new addition to my collection. She immediately fell in love and asked me to make something similar for her friend. So I did :-). Because I like to make every bag slightly unique, the new bag is a little bit less square and made in taupe and red. It’s also fitted with a red zipper.

A halo around the sun

A halo around the sun

We took these beautiful pictures of a halo around the sun last week during our skiing trip to the French Alps.

In the winter, when the sun appears lower in the sky, falling ice crystals turn the atmosphere into a giant lens causing arcs and halos to appear around the Sun.

When viewed from within the ski lift, the sun was a bit more cloud covered by the icy clouds lower in the valley and this caused a second halo to be visible!  To get an impression of that second halo, here’s a great example, as shot by Sarah from sarahontheroad.com , as we didn’t dare to draw our iPhones when in the lift!

Workshop II: Leather tote

Workshop II:  Leather tote

A few weeks ago I gave a workshop “make-it-yourself leather tote in one day”
With great enthusiasm two friends of mine volunteered to participate in my new workshop. They came down to my studio and worked hard all day to make a leather tote in their favorite color.

I pre-cut the body of the totes, to make it easier for them to complete the tote in one day. It was surprising, even for me, that the same piece of leather (in size) can yield a completely different result. Just by making a different type of bottom or through different placing of the straps. It was great fun to see how they learned from each other and had eye for detail when finishing their bags.  To add a personal touch they each stamped their name in their bag. After an inspiring workshop, my “students” treated me to dinner in a very nice restaurant not far from my home!
And for me? For me it was a relaxing day that prompted a lot of new ideas.  To be repeated for sure!

Merry Xmas and a happy 2015!

Merry Xmas and a happy 2015!

Dear customers,

I hope you managed to do all of your Christmas shopping and I hope you are all set for your Christmas dinner!

There’s no white Christmas in Holland this year, so let me entertain you with some beautiful snowy photos from previous years
These pictures are all taken in Leiden, a historic town I live close to.

We hope that your Rinarts shopping experience was great and hope to meet you again next year!

Let me conclude by wishing you all Happy Holidays and a fantastic 2015! May you and your loved ones remain happy and in good health.

Let the heart speak

Let the heart speak

After years of cutting, shaving and grinding, I have finally gone and ordered a customized heart-shaped punch tool for my heart-shaped cable organizers.When the large heart was finished I was so excited about the beautiful punch tool shape, I immediately ordered two more sizes! For this I designed a series of hearts in three different sizes, a large one for my cable organizers, a medium-sized for the key chains and the smallest one for decorations and to be used as a name tag.

It is a joy to make the cable organizers now, the punch-tool ensures clean-cut hearts and after burnishing the edges to make them smooth, they truly have a  professional quality and beauty.

At this moment I am exploring the other possible applications for my leather hearts. The facilitated making process enables me to be more creative with my hearts. I can easily use them as a decoration for purses, cardholders and bags. And remember Paula the bookbinder I befriended a few months ago? She can monogram the hearts to personalize them! I will tell you about the ongoing results of our collaboration in one of my next blogs posts.

I am planning to make these hearts available for your DIY projects, so join me next time when I will introduce some DIY ideas with my hearts!

 

 

New keychains with hearts

New keychains with hearts

I would like to introduce an adorable keychain with hearts. This keychain was developed in collaboration with Paula, an artisan bookbinder (www.1000en1boeken.nl). The key fobs are made from thick, yet supple vegetable tanned leather and embossed with three hearts by Paula using a hot foil press. The turquoise and pink keyrings are now available in my shop . These keychains will be a lovely Christmas gift

 

Christmas gift ideas 2014 (4) Leather Notebooks

Christmas gift ideas 2014 (4) Leather Notebooks

In part 4 of my christmas gifts series 2014 I’d like to reintroduce to my popular leather notebooks. With so many colors and leather types you will always have something original in your pocket and avid sketchers will love the beautiful 140 gsm paper pages. The 9x14cm (3.5″x5.5″) size will mean it is easy to carry around, you will never miss a moment to jot down your thoughts or make a quick drawing. A high quality, hand cut, all leather strap or  elastic band with leather tag is used to keep your notebook closed when it is in your pocket. The Rinarts leather notebooks are available from €10.00 ($14) in my shop. it is possible to personalize your notebook by stamping initials in the tag of the elastic band. Please contact Rinarts about the details and costs.

 

Christmas gift ideas 2014 (3) wallets

Christmas gift ideas 2014 (3) wallets

This time a very practical christmas gift: the zipper wallet QUARTER.
The wallet is flat and compact. It’s easy to carry it in a fold-over clutch. Use it as an extra storage for keys, coins, iPod nano, credit card or any other essential you want to take with you on a night out. The wallet also fits perfectly in my Q-bag clutch (presented in the last picture).  You can find the QUARTER wallets  and other wallets in my Rinartsatelier shop.
You can find my Q-bag clutches here.

Coming weeks my stock will be supplemented by new gift items. You can subscribe my blog to stay up to date.

Rinarts Website updated

Rinarts Website updated


After a few weeks of regular appointments with my webmaster (a.k.a. my daughter) we have worked hard to update my website!. Apart from refreshing many of the images on my site, we completely revamped the Bags, Accessories and Lookbook pages.

My Lookbook is now linked to my Pinterest account, thus ensuring you will always see my latest creations :-).  For the “Handmade Bags”  page we combined the “Leather Bags” and “Linen Bags” pages and updated the images. We did the same for the “Accessories” and “Tech Accessories” pages.
We have lots of plans for the future, like a review page and better integration of my shops. For now: enjoy the new images!

Christmas gift ideas 2014 (2) Drawstring pouches

Christmas gift ideas 2014 (2) Drawstring pouches

Need an original and fun way to wrap your gifts? These small leather drawstring bags make gift-wrapping fast and easy. Simply place your gift in the bag and tie the end shut.

Nothing to throw away after the present has been opened, as the cute drawstring pouch is a present in itself! It’s perfect for your Christmas gifts, or if you like to DIY, assemble some herbs for an aromatic pouch, or fill it with little soaps for that mini wellness touch.

The pouches made from perforated suede feels like velvet. It is possible to personalize them because it is easy to sew a name tag using the little holes.

My leather drawstring bags ensure a stunning presentation for your gift every time! Below is a selection of the drawstring bags I have made recently. These drawstring bags are soon available in my shop

Christmas gift ideas 2014 (1) Cable Organizers

Christmas gift ideas 2014 (1) Cable Organizers

The holidays are coming soon. Get ready to start with your Christmas shopping to receive all of your presents in time!

Coming weeks I will present many Christmas gift ideas in every price category to help you pick and choose beautiful hand crafted items for your loved ones. In this post I would like to focus on my cable organizers

The cable organizer is a very popular item in my shop and people love to gift these! They always come in handy and are available in all kinds of color- and leather combinations.

Recently I received some requests for  eco-friendly and vegan items, so I made a few cable organizers from cork (you can read more about this material in an earlier blog about cork) You can find more cable organizers in my Etsy shop

Last days of summer…

Last days of summer…

After a rainy August, these last weeks of summer in September are a real treat. Last week we made a wonderful cycle tour exploring the beautiful landscape of South Holland.

This part of the Netherlands is known as the “Randstad” and it’s actually the most crowded part of the Netherlands!  Still you can find very picturesque villages and beautiful quiet places where you can walk and bike surrounded by nature.

We start our tour in Leiden and cycled to the Horsten, the estate where our King William and Queen Maxima have lived with their 3 daughters for many years. We took a short walk and had tea at the  Teahouse. I will definitely come back here soon for a longer walk.

From the Horsten we cycled along the “Estate Route”, a gorgeous route that makes you feel like you have been transported back to the 19th century! We even came across a sheep herder with his herd.

We continued to Meijendel, a gorgeous haven of green, hidden in the dunes between Wassenaar and The Haque.

Our tour came to conclusion at the beach of Scheveningen, where we took a well deserved rest and bathed in the sun for hours to come. I’m sure a few more days of this will make me forget all about August 😉