As I said in a recent interview, the first bag I ever made isn’t for showing. This one is ok though. It is made from 3mm leather throughout and really solid. I designed it so that each end pocket would take a pair of shoes, and each end pocket on the inside would do the same. The end pockets on the outside have buckle fastenings to keep whatever is in there, secure. The straps that you see coming over the top can be used as belts and they feature nice solid brass buckles. Finally you have a good sturdy handle that fits in the hand nicely.
This bag has been used by a friend for many years when traveling to London or when going away in a vehicle. As you can imagine, it’s a heavy bag, but that isn’t a problem when you’re in a car or on a train. I’m not sure the airlines would let you try and take it in the cabin though!
I made one final version of this bag. On that version, I stripped away the end pockets, which streamlined things and allowed attachment points for a shoulder strap but it was kind of sad to take away those end pockets.
The eagle-eyed of you will see that the logo used on the front is different from the one we use today. This was when I used to make leather goods under the name of “Kip and Kofi”, Kip being a type of leather and Kofi being my dog. Times changed and so did the logo and name of the business. I do still like that bag though….
Who knows, maybe one day we’ll look at version 3.