Inspiration: Laser-Cut Leather

CNC & Machining Craft & Design
Inspiration: Laser-Cut Leather
This wool hat with a laser-cut leather overlay is striking and unique. Made by Los Angeles-based Brianna Kenyon, who has a whole Etsy shop full of beautiful and interesting headwear.
This wool hat with a laser-cut leather overlay is striking and unique. Made by Los Angeles-based Brianna Kenyon.

Leather lends itself to the intricate design possibilities of a laser cutter, because it’s pliable enough to wear on the body, yet sturdy enough to hold its shape, even with large cutouts. I’ve collected a few of my favorite examples of laser-cut leather here.

Did you know that the average person can access laser cutters for their own projects? You don’t have to pay thousands of dollars for a laser cutting machine: you have other options, including learning to use one at your local hackerspace or using a laser-cutting service like Ponoko.

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6 thoughts on “Inspiration: Laser-Cut Leather

  1. Agnes says:

    Laura this really makes me want to laser come leather now! You are right, access to a laser is definitely within reach nowadays.

  2. Chris Krug says:

    doesn’t leather give off some bad fumes when it gets hit w a laser? I hear it’s a no no w/o a lot of ventilation.

    1. Laura Cochrane says:

      Hm, I’m not sure. Looks like Noisebridge and TechShop allow people to laser cut it. https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Lasercutter http://techshop.ws/take_classes.html?storeId=4&categoryId=10

      But you’re right — in Googling around a bit, it looks like best practice to use leather that has not been tanned with formaldehyde.

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