Review: Artificer #11 skunk sporran

[ShaunMaxwell]

Yesterday was a good day.

I received two packages in the morning mail at my office. The first of which was a black sporran belt and strap from Oconee Leatherworks. The timing was fortuitous, as I also received the much anticipated skunk sporran from the Artificer (see thread: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...52/index2.html).

The past several month, I'd been intrigued by the idea of a skunk sporran, but found that almost all of those commercially available had pewter cantles, which made them seem (to me at least) a bit dressier than I'd have occasion to wear. The others I found were either full mask, which my wife hated; had a simple leather flap closure, which I found to be a bit underwhelming; or were of the "semi-dress" variety, of which I was not fond (the notable exception to all of the above being the Ferguson Britt...).

Since the Artificer joined the forum, I've followed his DIY threads with interest, and growing admiration, so I contacted him in mid-June to see if he might be willing to take on a commission. We corresponded quite a bit over the next several weeks, exchanging ideas and sketches until we arrived at the final design. From the onset, the Artificer was very responsive and came up with some great ideas (hammered leather cantle, red suede lining) that really turned the sporran into a piece of usable art.

I can't say enough about the time he obviously spent and the efforts (sketches, paper models to test check the cantle dimensions, photos of sample braiding and cantle treatments, etc.) put into coming up with a final product that far exceeded my expectations.

Dealing with the Artificer was a real pleasure, and I've gained a much deeper appreciation for the countless details required in undertaking a project of this nature. As thrilled as I am to have the finished sporran, I enjoyed the process so much that I hated to see it end.

Thank you, Scott, for the beautiful sporran. You truly are "the Artificer"!

SM