WHEN ANDY MET GRAYSON

Not so long ago, Grayson Perry CBE approached artisan leather-maker Andy Bates with a very exotic commission. It was to make a headline-grabbing handbag for Grayson’s alter ego Claire, the now infamous, three-dimensional genitally shaped bag aka the Scrotum Sac (ornately crafted and detailed in vegetable-dyed brown calfskin!)

The infamous Scrotal Sac created exclusively for Grayson Perry by artisan leather maker Andy Bates

Andy moulded the handbag from Grayson’s original design sketches and it took months to construct. Firstly he had to carve a wooden ‘former’ and then soak hand dyed, bark tanned calfskin in water so that it became malleable and could be moulded around the oaken testicles, a centuries old technique. A bell, which was supplied by Grayson himself, was playfully added to the end of the appendage and upholstery nails were used to get the ‘pimple’ effect. Yikes! The bag was completed with a perfectly smooth ‘back side’.

The super smooth ‘back side’ of the Scrotal Sac bag

Grayson was delighted with the bag and ‘Claire’ originally showcased it during a Channel 4 documentary on the Liberty of London department store and it has since toured Europe. Here he is sporting it outside the British Museum.

Grayson as alter ego Claire peeping into the bag outside the British Museum

Andy has received massive interest about the Scrotal Sac but he has declined to replicate it and Grayson’s eccentric handbag remains an exclusive one-off.

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Andy Bates (pictured) and colleague Emma Berry made this huge dragon puppet in 2019

Andy Bates is based in Morpeth, Northumberland where he crafts bespoke hand-stitched artisanal leathergoods. He also teaches and creates historical reconstructions and leather-made props and costume for TV, film, theatre, opera and sculpture. Connect @AndyBates LeatherStudio