I was beyond thrilled when my high school friend announced her upcoming wedding, and even more so when she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. It was an honor to be entrusted with behind-the-scenes details of the big day, especially the decor and the bachelorette party.
Given free rein over our attire, with the only guideline being to stick to the 'Rust' color range, I opted to have a dress custom-made. However, unable to simply sit back and let someone else create my outfit without adding a touch of MelonPickle flair, I decided to incorporate a unique accessory: a purse.
Being the overachievers that we are, we decided to infuse the purse with materials we use in our business: leather, wood, and epoxy. It was a way to add our own personal touch to the wedding ensemble and make it truly one-of-a-kind.
Process
- The first step was to design the purse, we wanted something unique and not like other purses we had seen, and to incorporate many elements, wood, leather and epoxy. We came up with a design which incorporated our preferred geometric interest, using brass rods for the frame and leather wrap for the main body.
- We drew up the side panel shape and cut it out of MDF with our laser cutter, and then used that as a template to follow using a templating bit on our router to cut the shape out of some recycled Rimu we had milled to size.
- We then routed out a pocket in each of the sides to fill with epoxy and flower embeds. As it was for a wedding we used some dried flowers from my own bridal bouquet to add that extra touch.
- We then sanded the sides smooth, and finished with Shelac.
- Moving on to the leather pieces, we laid out the designs and our MelonPickle pictogram in a staggered motif and etched and cut the parts out with our laser.
- Once the pieces were all cut we stitched the larger panels together, attached the magnetic clasp, chain and accessories to the leather pieces.
- Lastly we drilled interference fit holes in the inside corners of the purse for the brass rods and assembled the purse, using upholstery tacks to secure the leather to the side panels.
The bag was simply stunning, exuding both elegance and practicality. The epoxy detailing added a personal touch, while the subtle yet distinct laser etching of the MelonPickle logo made it truly special. With ample space for essentials like a wallet, phone, lipstick, and more, it quickly became my go-to accessory. Since the wedding I have used it countless times for fancy events.
Things to improve on:
- Change the nail securing the chain to the wooden purse as it comes off when pulled at a certain angle. A Chicago Screw might be better and will keep it in place more.
- Have a divider inside the purse so that it is not just one big pouch.
- The rods to keep the purse sturdy works well but I would like to redesign and come up with a more elegant solution.
- Lengthen Leather strap for attaching chain as the chain scratches the wood