Swoon-Worthy Leather Bags – Bags by Gscout
Inspiration for new blog posts come from everywhere… meeting new people, shopping through our local boutiques, or in the case of this post, simply scrolling through Facebook. I have no idea how these pictures originally appeared on my feed (through the magic of Facebook!) but when I saw these stunning, handmade leather bags, I just had to investigate further!
Gillian Adamo of Bags by Gscout shares her story of how she learned about leather work, taught herself how to make bags, and then combined her lifelong skills as a healer to create custom bags, along with her daughter and partner Cheyenne, with just a bit of something special….
One of the original bags, twenty years old!
“Twenty five years ago I was traveling in Nepal, a girl walking down the dusty streets of Kathmandu caught my eye. She looked like a wild gypsy girl and she had this amazing braided leather necklace on. I asked her about it and she said she made it and that she sold them. I asked her if I could buy one from her and she said “No, I’ll teach you how to make it”!!
“She invited myself and my boyfriend to come and stay with her in her home on a lake in a town at the base of the Himalayas. Over a period of 3 weeks, she taught me numerous techniques in leather braid work.
“After returning home to Canada I got the idea to make leather bags. I created designs in my mind for bags and stitched them into form with the stitches I had been taught in Nepal. My craft was born. I created leather bags in Canada for the following 3 years. Then I moved to Maui to raise my daughter. I put my bags to the side and 20 years later my daughter asked me to make her a bag. I did, I posted a picture of it and I got 5 requests for bags… Gscout begins!!!
“This has been a full time job for me, alongside the healing work that I have been doing throughout my life. They go hand in hand as the healing energy I work with also goes in to every one of these bags. I like to say that people ‘carry a feeling’ with them when they carry our bags. Its the feeling I generate through my healing work.
Solid silver hand pounded ring on strap
“Each bag is handmade with no electricity or machines, using genuine Italian & Spanish leathers and deer skin from Alaska. My daughter, Cheyenne Jagger, works along side me. Before we joined forces, she acquired a knack for goldsmith skills and became a jeweler of fine metals and stones. In our Gscout Bags, Cheyenne creates solid silver hand-pounded rings for our strap attachments, adding one more level of refinement to these creations. Many of the Gscout bags are made to order so as our clients may have a bag perfectly fit to the individuals tastes and needs.
The custom bag for Christine McVie
“Mick Fleetwood’s girlfriend commissioned a bag for him, and she gave me a few little trinket treasures of his that I attached to the pouch. She also gave me a cool skeleton key that had special significance between the two of them and I added that to the inside pocket of her bag. A year later, Mick commissioned a bag as a gift for Christine McVie —> (Christine’s clutch got cool sexy lines to match her cool rock and roll persona), then the next year he bought his girlfriend one of my bags. I made Krishna Das a bag, and I added a vintage Indian coin since India is so deeply in his heart. I’m making something for Gretchen Rhodes, who sings with Kenny Chesney. Gretchen’s bag is going to be earthy and sexy and solid just like her.”
Want to get your hands on your own Gscout?
Check them out in person at Holiday and Co in Makawao, or view and purchase online at www.gscouthawaii.com. (and don’t forget about the custom options!) And make sure you follow them on Facebook – Bags by GScout and Instagram- g scout bags .
Mahalo to Gillian for sharing her awesome story and her gorgeous bags! Now I just need to come up with an excuse to get my own custom Gscout…
Maui Made 