Make your own leather clutch at Ni QUA’s pop-up shop

DIY Bespoke Your Ni QUA lets you make your own clutch.

PHOTOS BY TATIN YANG

If our home economics teacher gave us pieces of leather to turn into pretty clutches, we would’ve most likely aced our sewing lessons (why would a 12-year-old be eager to sew a throw pillow?). This was what we realized after spending a day putting together a leather clutch at the DIY Bespoke Your NiQUA workshop at their pop-up shop in Century City Mall.

For P1,800, you will be given a kit that will let you make your own bag from start to finish—perforated, pre-cut buttery leather rectangles, thread and screw-on fasteners—it’s like a more fun, grown-up version of paint-by-numbers, except you get a handy purse after.
The best part? There’s a debossing machine at the pop-up shop so you can also have your handmade clutch monogrammed with your initials. The workshop will be until November 1 and it’s a great way to spend the weekend with your friends, mom, or titas. There’s a reservation form on their website, but walk-ins are welcome, too.

We made one today and it’s so addictive that we want to go back this weekend to make more clutches—it’s also a great Christmas present for a loved one, and the cut of the clutch is basic enough that it can even be used by men if you pick dark-colored leather.
You can also check out Ni QUA’s other bag styles at the pop-up shop, too. One of the biggest selling points of the brand is their willingness to customize and tweak existing designs according to your preference. “We have two different kinds of customization: Bespoke Your Ni QUA and Color Your Ni QUA,” says owner and designer Bunnie de Guzman. Bespoke lets you play around with existing designs; you can turn a solid-colored bag into a two-toned bag, choose between a short or shoulder handle based on your lifestyle—you can even pick the color of the bag’s hardware. Color Your Ni QUA, meanwhile, lets you select a color from 15 available leather swatches.