Month of Makeovers Day 27: A craftsman remakes a worn out jacket

When we came up with the idea for this Month of Makeovers I knew I had a perfect project to delegate to a real craftsman. We met Jared DeSimio, Maker at the Vintage Bazaar in June. He had an impressive display of totes and bags he had made in his workshop in Brunswick, Maine. I thought of him when I was trying to decide what to do with this battered jacket that used to belong to my father. The sleeves were worn so badly it couldn’t be donated; it would have to go in the trash. Or get remade.

I contacted Jared through his Etsy shop and he set up a listing for a custom tote. I was surprised that he went on to post an entire facebook image gallery showing some of the steps of the tote construction.

I could see from the photos that the tote was done. YES!! A few days later the mailman stuffed a huge box in our doorway. Here’s what was inside. A super vintage suitcase! Wow!

When I opened the suitcase I found an envelope upcycled from an old book. That made me smile even more.

The envelope held a list of all the materials Jared used to make the tote. The paper was recycled, too.

I took a deep breath and peeled back the wrapping paper. And then I cried. The tote is just as wonderful as I imagined. My dad would have loved it even though he wasn’t a tote-carrying kind of guy.

Dad spent his whole life making and remaking things. When we cleaned out his workshop we discovered a box of leather scraps–including pieces from his old shoes. Reusing his old jacket would have made perfect sense to him. I’m sure he’d admire and appreciate Jared’s meticulous craftsmanship. I do!

See the entire list of projects for our Month of Makeovers HERE.