Tackling the Juliette Tote: Overcoming the Challenges of Bringing a Complicated Bag to Life In-House

It’s been a while since you’ve heard from Marcher Studio, and that’s because I’ve been hard at work behind the scenes on a huge undertaking—expanding our production capabilities, all while focusing on getting the Juliette Tote into production. It’s been a wild ride, but I’m excited to share the journey with you.

A Quick Recap of Marcher Studio’s Evolution

As you may know, our bags have always been made in the U.S., right here in Oregon. Several years ago, I made the decision to bring all of our manufacturing in-house. Since then, I’ve been hands-on with every step of the production process, creating bags like the Kristen, Mini Kristen, Micro Pia, and Isabella Totes. In fact, I took on 

the challenge of making the Isabella Tote in 2023 and have even created several custom Isabellas.

But last year, I knew it was time to tackle something bigger. The Juliette Tote is one of the most complex designs in our collection—and I knew it was the perfect next step in growing Marcher Studio.

The Challenge of Making the Juliette Tote

I was feeling confident. After all, I had already made countless bags in the studio, and I had personally crafted the original prototypes for the Juliette Tote. With my experience, I thought it would be a smooth transition into full-scale production. But when I started working through the process, I quickly hit some roadblocks.

The Juliette Tote is no simple bag to produce. There are numerous steps, intricate details, and a whole lot of nuances involved that needed to be documented. My brain works in a very specific way, so creating a detailed process was key to moving forward. However, I hit a huge snag when it came to sewing the side gussets of the bag.

A Huge Roadblock: The Cylinder Machine Dilemma

I was stuck. My cylinder machine, which I’d been using for years, just couldn’t handle the gussets. It was one of those frustrating moments where I tried everything: watching videos, researching solutions, and brainstorming alternative methods. But nothing worked.

After weeks of spinning my wheels, I finally realized what I needed: a different machine—a post bed machine. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks: the post bed machine would allow me to sew the gussets in place. But this led to the next big hurdle: finding one.

The Search for the Right Machine

Determined to keep moving forward, I asked around town if anyone had a post bed machine I could test. I hit dead ends everywhere, even with some of the most well-known bag brands who didn’t have this elusive machine. This sent me into research overdrive, spending hours learning about post bed machines, completely blind to how they even worked.

After over a month of searching and narrowing down options, I finally found the perfect machine from a brand I already knew and trusted. It was a leap of faith, but I took the plunge and ordered it.

The Struggles of Mastering a New Machine

I wish I could say the new machine arrived, and I was able to get right back to finishing my first pre-production sample of the Juliette Tote. But when the machine finally arrived, it was clear that it wasn’t going to be an instant solution. The post bed machine was tricky to operate—it required a level of finesse I wasn’t used to, and the learning curve was steep.

I spent hours practicing, working with scraps and test samples, trying to get the stitch length just right and learning how to feed the leather through the machine without causing any hiccups. It was a painstaking process, but I finally moved on to the full mock-ups of the Juliette Tote, testing how to maneuver the bag through the machine.

The First Pre-Production Sample: A Victory

After a lot of sweat and determination, I was finally able to complete the first pre-production sample of the Juliette Tote. The bag was a gorgeous camel color, and even though it was still challenging (it took me 12 minutes to sew each gusset!), it was a major milestone.

What I thought would be a couple of weeks’ worth of work turned into a six-month project. But that’s part of the journey in production—things never go as planned. However, I’m proud to say that I now have a completed pre-production sample, as well as a couple of final production samples, I’m learning more with every step. Here's one of the two final production pieces I've made to date!

Reflecting on the Process

This journey has been one of the most challenging undertakings I’ve faced since starting Marcher Studio. Was it frustrating? Absolutely. Do I wish things had gone differently? Of course, some parts of it. But I also know that this is part of the growth process, and though it may have felt like a setback, it has reignited my passion for creating high-quality, crafted pieces designed to last a lifetime.

In the next part of this blog series, I’ll dive into how I’m working to streamline production and improve our processes moving forward. Stay tuned for Part 2!