Susanna Freymark
Mario Sanchez Huertas wasn’t able to get to the Sydney Royal Easter Show this year but the bag he made did.
At his leather studio in Kyogle, Mario didn’t know his bag was a winner until he was sent a message.
“I’m part of several leatherworking online communities,” Mario said.
“They posted images of the displays and sent me a message when they found out my piece had won first place in the Bag Category.”
Mario entered the show in 2023.
“I entered for the first time and won two second prizes with my two entries. This year I wanted to get a blue ribbon,” he said.
And his bag that draws inspiration from leaves got that blue ribbon.
“The bag uses a special technique I have developed to make the leather look like they are leaves,” Mario said.
“It is labour intensive and is completely done by hand, including the colouring, using dyes.
“It took roughly a whole week to make, equating to about 40 hours of work, not including the design and planning stage.”
Mario doesn’t shy away from a leather challenge.
“I love making leather look like other materials, in particular leaves.
“Part of my art practice is using leather leaves to create images, as part of my Playing with Leaves art project. This bag is an offshoot of that concept, applied to a useful object. The inside is completely lined to look like its leaves also.”
Mario does small custom jobs like sheaths, pouches but doesn’t take on large custom jobs like bag.
“I am at a stage in my practice where I like to have more freedom with what I make, instead of it being dictated by orders,” he said.
