Carvings 

The standard catch on a handbag is simply an ivory or ebony pin that fits through two interlocking cane wrapped pieces of leather as shown in the first image.  I made the choice years ago ( I had seen this in several places) to orient the pin vertically instead of the more commonly seen horizontal direction.  Over the years I had heard so many women complain about how the pin (horizontal) constantly falls out and I also like the symmetry of the vertical orientation.  I adapted this idea to my full ivory catches as well.

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In the last few years, my students have gotten very inventive with different carvings to use as the closure.  Using rare earth magnets has enabled me to use a very wide range of carvings to make each basket a true one of a kind.