Kath's Things: Old Leather

I would like to begin this post by saying that I do not really support the slaughtering of little (or large) earthlings to make new fashion. That being said, I'm not 100% against where leather or fur comes from. Especially if it's hand-crafted by someone you know has used everything from that animal for a very important reason. 

I have a few leather items in my possession, and they're very important to me. 

The first one is this very old purse.

When I was 18, I went to live in the Swiss Alps with an absolutely lovely family for three months for a school exchange. My exchange partner's parents were antique dealers. 

My exchange parents had come across two of these solid leather pilot bags. They were used by old swiss pilots to carry their flight plans.  They gave one to Claire (my exchange partner) and myself. 

Flight and navigation is a big part of my family. I don't know if my exchange dad knew how meaningful this gift would be to me. It's my most cherished "souvenir" from that exchange (besides all the awesome memories, of course!)

There are two slots for pencils inside, and it fits envelopes/paper perfectly. 

I love this purse. When I wear it, I feel like I'm carrying around something historic. 

Next, I have this belt. Now, if you've ever seen me more than once in your life, you've probably seen me wearing this belt. I've been wearing it consistently since circa 2003, when I nabbed it off my dad. 

My dad came across this belt when he was in the North West Territories, working his first job as a bush pilot. (See why flight is important in my family? ;) )

The belt says "Pelly Bay NWT" and is adorned with images of First Nations Inuit people with a sled. 

Pelly Bay is actually in Nunavut, but my dad was there way before Nunavut got its name. 

I just did a Google Maps search of Pelly Bay and gosh, it's so far north! I have personally never been north of Edmonton, Alberta, so I feel like I can barely conceptualize the northern-ness that is Pelly Bay . 

Classic Winter Kath

I hope you enjoyed the first part of this "series" of blog posts! I can't wait to write more. There are exciting things to come!