The Material Girl of Katy, LLC

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The Material Girl of Katy, LLC Soft Interiors & Upholstery

07/17/2026

As I reach the 10-year mark of starting this business, I am announcing my decision to retire The Material Girl of Katy.

This has been an incredibly inspiring and rewarding experience, allowing me to work with amazingly talented designers and so many wonderful people. This decision did not come easily, but the timing is right and I look forward to the next chapter.

Thank you for the opportunity to collaborate in the creative process and help turn your visions into reality. It has truly been a privilege.
❤️ Michelle

Happy Easter!
04/01/2024

Happy Easter!

These photo collections show aligning the belt on the backside of the lid with the buckle on the front side of the botto...
01/22/2024

These photo collections show aligning the belt on the backside of the lid with the buckle on the front side of the bottom & positioning the lid valance. You’ll see the exposed metal strapping has been applied on the corners of the bottom & lid as well as the bottom sides… this set of strapping secured the foot rails & rollers in place to the bottom of the trunk. There is still much to accomplish, but you can see it’s starting to take shape.

The leather carried over from the main body of the trunk to its sides was treated differently for the bottom than for th...
01/21/2024

The leather carried over from the main body of the trunk to its sides was treated differently for the bottom than for the top. Both pieces would have exposed metal strapping nailed in place, but because the bottom base was leathered in two pieces (front & back, non required on the bottom as it was lined with a sheet of tin), it could be split at the bottom curve to ensure a smooth finish to the sides. This allowed me to measure, cut, trim & finish the raw edges before hand stitching to the sides. The lid’s curves ended too close to the splice where the ends of the exposed metal strappings were inserted beneath the leather (for a nice, clean finish). This meant I could not split the leather in these areas. Therefore, I had to first hand-stitch the wrapped leather to the lid sides while attempting to keep the leather as smooth as possible, then trim & finish the raw edges.

Now for the primary reason I was commissioned for this project… new leather & replacing the rivets with decorative nails...
01/21/2024

Now for the primary reason I was commissioned for this project… new leather & replacing the rivets with decorative nails. This too was challenging, but also very satisfying as the rows of nails were positioned over the glue-cemented leather onto the bases.

My clients chose a distressed leather with multi-tone dark & saddle brown shades & subtle golden highlights. This leather has a very soft hand & was easy to work. The nails also have a slightly worn look to the brass tone finish & a unique diamond shape which adds character & a personal charm to the piece.

This post is about securing the four central metal strapping to the bottom & lid bases before covering with the new leat...
01/20/2024

This post is about securing the four central metal strapping to the bottom & lid bases before covering with the new leather.

💪🏼THIS STEP WAS PHYSICALLY CHALLENGING!💪🏼

Each strap has 7-10 holes for the decorative nail shanks to fit through, but these aren’t attached until after the leather is applied, so the straps need to be tacked in place. This is achieved using smaller holding tacks in the additional holes on each strap. Pretty straightforward, except the holes in the sole leather created from age & wear or while removing the original tacks during disassembly made adding new holding tacks a challenge. Filling these holes with a repairing agent prior to this step helped. However, the extra holes on the ends of the lid straps were incredibly brittle from wear & exposure, most breaking when trying to cleave the holding tacks in place. About this point is when I began thinking “where there’s a will, there’s a way” & that “way” was found in the form of strong waxed thread tightly sewn into the sole leather & around the strapping just a bit up from the ends. Problem solved & on to the best part… beautiful leather & decorative nails.

This set of photos shows stitching the metal frame in place to the bottom base & aligning the sides to be stitched to th...
01/20/2024

This set of photos shows stitching the metal frame in place to the bottom base & aligning the sides to be stitched to the main base. You’ll see the two rows of stitching holes pierced in preparation for this step, for two reasons:

I needed to be sure I used the same puncture holes for sewing the perpendicular join to reduce risk of tearing the sole leather & compromising the integrity of the piece.

And…

The second, innermost set of stitches were originally done by machine. I don’t have a machine for this task, so this too had to be stitched by hand. The original machine-stitched puncture holes were quite close together & I was afraid my thicker hand sewing needle would create perforations that could weaken this area. So I decided to move this row of stitches inward 1/8” & create a new set of stitch holes. Also, a good amount of force was needed to pierce the more flexible new leather and stiff, thick sole leather. Piercing the holes with a piercing tool before needling significantly reduced the force needed. It also lessened the tension on my hands & shoulders.

Part of this project was figuring out the puzzle of what must be done before the next step. As I mentioned earlier, typi...
01/20/2024

Part of this project was figuring out the puzzle of what must be done before the next step. As I mentioned earlier, typically reassembly happens in opposite order of disassembly. However, sometimes the order needs to be switched up a bit & here are a couple examples.

The sides of the lid & bottom are stitched to the main of the bases, but are also stitched a second time with the leather wrapped from the main of the bases. More on that later.

At this point it was clear the leather between where that second, innermost stitching would eventually take place & the corner of the trunk bases needed to be tightly secured, so I glued the leather on, let it dry & pierced the leather at the connecting stitch holes. Then I realized it would likely be easier to hand stitch the handles onto the sides before reassembly, so I did that. And then I realized I needed new holes in preparation for the second stitching, so I pierced those. And I also realized I needed a better pattern for the belt buckle tabs on the front bottom which would not be visible once the leather was applied to the base, so I rigged up a couple clamps & used a long paint stir stick to hold up the top side in order to fit my head & hands in to do that.

Side note… mallets are a great stress relief tool!

Remember how I said the rivets were my greatest fear? Not anymore. Removing the outer layers revealed the sole leather b...
01/19/2024

Remember how I said the rivets were my greatest fear? Not anymore. Removing the outer layers revealed the sole leather base was…
⚠️⚠️100% STITCHED TOGETHER BY HAND⚠️⚠️ but worse…
⚠️⚠️THE STITCHES HAD DISINTEGRATED⚠️⚠️
Literally turned to dust.

đź’¨ p**f đź’¨

Keep in mind, this base material is not like stitching fabric or leather. It’s more like stitching a solid composite board or rawhide that might tear or flake or crack from age if applying too much force. Also notice how the stitches are visible on the outside, but invisible on the inside. 🤯What the? 🤯How the? Ummm… what now? 🤔

The solution was as simple as a curved leather needler. Yes, needle-r… the “r” is intentional. 🤷🏻‍♀️ It’s a heavy duty needle system made especially for hand stitching leather. One of the thick gauge needles is curved just past the needle eye. This allowed me to pierce one side, exit on the edge of that side which is butted up to the inside of the perpendicular base, and pierce the perpendicular side at about the same distance from the edge as the first side piercing, thus creating a stitch that is invisible on the inside corner.

Why is it important for the trunk inside corner stitches to be invisible? Consider the trunk’s function: store & carry personal items. If a basic stitch is used to join two perpendicular faces, the stitches would be exposed within, constantly in contact with the trunks contents, causing wear & stretch over a short period of time. This would weaken the frame & compromise the integrity of the trunk. And the integrity of the trunk maker. That’s not how things were made in the 1800’s. Makers were invested in making excellent quality products to stand the test of time. Positioning the stitches to be invisible to the inside tightens the perpendicular connection & prevents contact with the contents, thereby strengthening the base to withstand wear. And so I did.

Leatherwork like I’d never done before & THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN! Recreating the side carry handles, lid belts & belt guide...
01/18/2024

Leatherwork like I’d never done before & THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN! Recreating the side carry handles, lid belts & belt guides, buckle tabs, & lid lift using leather-working tools (gluing roller, thread hole punch, skiver, rivet setter, edge finishing products) on a contrast leather was such a cool experience.

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Katy, TX

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 3pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 3pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 3pm
Thursday 8:30am - 3pm
Friday 8:30am - 3pm

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