Leather Dice Cup
Artisan: Cathy Crow
CrowScratches Etsy Shop

This little gem arrived today from CrowScratches and what a beautiful piece of functional art. So, a little disclosure is required on my part. Recently I came across the Kickstarter campaign for these dice cups and was struck by their beauty. Cathy and I corresponded and viola, it arrived today.

PRESENTATION:
This dice cup is really beautiful! From the scarlet red color to the Norse dragon work around the upper rim it screams “I want to roll dice and take the souls your gamers!” The stitch work is very well executed with no obvious beginning or end. It is all finely crafted and looks really nice on my game table. Dimensions are 4.25″ in height and almost 3.25 in diameter.

CONSTRUCTION:
The cup’s cylinder is made of a 2-piece construction. The outer layer is finished leather (top grain) and the inner layer is a suede-like texture. The bottom section is tightly sewn into the cylinder. The edges are nicely finished to have a soft and appealing edge. The leather has undergone a hardening process to help it retain its shape and form over the long haul. Nonetheless, it still retains some of its flexibility. The scroll work is done by laser etching the design directly into the leather. This laser etching process gives the underlying leather a great texture that is not found in hand tooled leather.

The dying is very nice. While I am no leather expert, I like the overall coloration of the cup. The inner surface has some lighter and darker spots which give a real honest to goodness handcrafted look. The outer surface has some striations on the surface. Cathy tells me this is from the sealant running as she was fine tuning her process. To be honest, I think it gives the cup character and I wouldn’t change it.

PARTING THOUGHTS:
It if wasn’t obvious by now, I really like this dice cup. I have dice towers and dice trays, but no dice cups. This is more than a functional dice cup, it’s a handcrafted piece of art. I love handcrafted functional gaming accessories and this cup is it! The dice bouncing around inside the cup have a great sound and I looking forward to using this at every game session. My players and opponents (depending on the game) will more assuredly be jealous.

Would you like to get your own? You still have time! The Kickstarter campaign is still going strong and has a few more day to go. Don’t delay or you’ll miss out on the getting your cup in one of six colors and with one of 5 motifs.

~ Modoc

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