Hobo x Virginia Elwood

"As a child of the '70s, I grew up in a world of artists, musicians, craftspeople, and leather while being raised under the craft bench in my mom’s iconic leather shop. It is there that I learned my craft and a respect for possessions created with beauty, soul, and purpose. The Artisan Series is my way of celebrating artists in small-batch, one-of-a-kind Hobo leather goods for you to love." - Koren Ray

Introducing the Hobo Artisan Series, a celebration of the craft of leather touched by female artisans whom we love. Our very first Artisan Series features NYC tattoo artist, Virginia Elwood of Saved Tattoo.

Virginia took the art of tattooing to a curated group of our Vintage Hide leather bags, creating the limited-edition Inked Hide collection featuring the Vida wristlet clutch, Rozanne tote bag and Larkin crossbody bag.

For every bag sold, Hobo will make a donation to Project Create as part of our #LiveTheCode platform. Project Create is passionate about raising awareness of arts education in the lives of children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness and poverty in the D.C. area.

Why tattooing?

V: I was obsessed with tattoos since I was a teenager, but it wasn’t until my early 20’s that I even considered trying to become a tattoo artist. There weren’t many women tattooing back then, so it truly never felt doable, but I went for it anyway and never looked back.

What is your favorite tattoo?

V: I have so many tattoos, I tend to consider it just one big bodysuit, but my favorite is the one on my hand that I share with a group of friends.

If not a tattoo artist, what would you do?

V: I really love what I do and can’t imagine being or doing anything else.