At Espacio, products rarely arrive fully formed.

A wallet will go through several versions before the proportions feel right. A keychain may change hardware more than once, and sometimes a product disappears for years before finding its way back into our collection.

Every object is part of an ongoing conversation between ideas, materials, and making.

Lately, we've been exploring a handful of new ideas around the studio. We've been testing different leather braid patterns, redesigning our bandana slides, and reimagining one of the very first keychains Kat designed when she started Espacio back in 2013.

The new bandana slide is a good example of how much work can hide behind what looks like a simple object. We wanted to create something a little softer than our existing cutout designs, so we started sketching floral motifs inspired by vintage stamp impressions.

                         

The final design didn't arrive all at once. We adjusted the spacing between the petals, experimented with different proportions, and eventually added a scalloped edge that helped frame the design. None of those changes are dramatic on their own, but together they transformed the piece into something that felt complete.

Not every idea moves forward and sometimes old ones find their way back.

During one of our monthly studio cleans, we found a forgotten box filled with leather parts for a retired wallet called the Card Collector, along with a handful of Chapstick Holders. (Real Espacio OGs know what's up.)

The Card Collector quietly left our collection a few years ago, but finding those unfinished pieces felt a little like opening an Espacio time capsule.

Rather than letting them continue collecting dust, we decided to finish them.

Our Production Artist suggested something we hadn't considered: introducing a few variations. Back in 2018, before he officially joined the studio, he made himself a Card Collector from scrap leather he had purchased from us. His version adapted the design of the Card Collector, but added pockets to every side of the wallet to better fit what he carried.

That small observation led to something new. Instead of reproducing every wallet exactly as it had been before, we made some with three pockets and others with four. This has never been done at Espacio! Ever!

It's a tiny change, but it's also a good reminder that ideas continue to evolve, no matter how old they are.

Making the most of every hide has always been part of how we work. After cutting wallets and larger goods, we're often left with narrow leather strips that are too beautiful to throw away but too small for most projects.

For a while those strips sat in a box, taunting us, waiting for the right idea. Eventually we realized they were almost perfectly sized for braided keychains.

So we got to work experimenting with different braid patterns, lengths, and hardware combinations. Some feel too bulky. Others don't sit quite right in your hand. A few have become favorites around the studio, while others will probably never leave the prototype box.

And that's okay. Not every experiment succeeds.

We test hardware, rethink construction, adjust dimensions, and ask questions that customers may never think about. Is there enough room? What type of hardware does this call for? Is there a simpler way to build it?

We don’t always have the answers to these questions, but every prototype teaches us something that makes the next version better.

Even the products that have been part of our collection for years continue to change. Sometimes the updates are obvious. More often, they're almost invisible: a wider margin, an extra stitch hole, stronger construction, or a better feel in your hand.

That's the part of craftsmanship that rarely gets seen.

From forgotten leather parts rediscovered during a studio clean to scraps becoming braided keychains, every product carries the history of the ideas that came before it.

Every piece we make is simply the latest version of an idea that's still evolving.