Acassi: Tweed & Leather Bags Made in England

Acassi (link below) is a British brand making bags for men. Launched in 2016 by founder Julie Paisley, it uses British made and sourced materials, including Harris tweed, high quality leathers and solid brass hardware. 

Julie abandoned her career as a photographic stylist after a holiday to Harris in The Outer Hebrides opened her eyes to the beauty and craftsmanship of Harris tweed and she decided to make bags incorporating this colourful and iconic cloth. Determined to develop a brand of her own, rather than other people's, she worked on blending colours of tweed with high quality leathers. She visualised her brand being British made, using the best quality leathers in amazing colours. She designed her first bag and Acassi was born.

Julie was determined to manufacture in the UK and she told me:

"It is important to me that the manufacturing of my products remains in the UK, keeping alive traditional skills, supporting British manufacturing and very importantly to me being able to control the ethical side of my brand. To help preserve the traditional heritage of UK Industries, to avoid the ‘Fast Fashion’ of today and to ensure the makers of my products have safe working conditions".

The bags are beautifully made; the leather soft and the Harris tweed full of colour on the Marton Messenger which I've been road testing. Inside is roomy, with plenty of nooks and crannies for your belongings. Priced from £465, these are high quality pieces of British leather work.

To see more information and to buy Julie's bags, visit her website here.

This feature is unsponsored. I was sent a bag for review. All views are my own.

AG'E-MES: Bags Designed and Made in Britain

A new brand on the block, Ag'e-Mes design and make all the components for their bags in Britain. From Northampton, Walsall and Dundee, parts come together in Suffolk to form luggage for business and travel. The products include rucksacks, soft luggage, shoulder bags and leather accessories. I will be trying them soon, but have no reason to doubt the construction and design from the images I've seen. For all keen to buy British and lovers of good design and manufacture: See AG'E-MES. Please try for yourselves and report back.

New Globe Traveller Bags on Kickstarter: Support a Child's Education

New Globe Traveller bags are made from upcycled leather and rubber inner tubes. On each purchase, the primary school education of an underprivileged child in a developing country is supported for a year in the name of the buyer. A good range of bags of various types is available for Kickstarter pledges starting at £95. 

The excellent Weekend Holdall, which is an aircraft cabin size, has become one of my go-to bags, (image above) and can be obtained for a pledge of only £135 (RRP £180). With each bag the buyer receives details of the child whose education will be supported.

The campaign ends on 21 March, so please make a pledge soon on Kickstarter.

Hawkesmill bags: made in England - A Review

Hawkesmill bags are made in England and come with a lifetime defects warranty. I was recently sent a large messenger camera bag for review.

Hawkesmill Jermyn Street

Made from triple-layered waterproof canvas and Harris tweed, the bag is obviously tough as old nails, with leather reinforcement at the corners. Designed as a camera bag, it comes with all the padded inserts you would expect to protect your camera equipment. Everywhere are clever pockets and storage sleeves, zipped and not, for documents, wallets, phones and laptops. The simple turn lock allows quick access to the bag. 

The bag is designed to carry a large load and the handle and straps are extra-strong. It's recognised that parts will wear, parts of the interior, feet and shoulder strap so these can be replaced and secure with Velcro. The padding can be removed, giving a useful weekend bag. 

Hawkesmill Bond Street

Priced at £549, this is a tough bag, slightly heavier than most because of its solid construction and (removable) padding, but attractive to look at and comfortable to carry by hand or using the shoulder strap. An interesting development of the traditional British sporting bag, it comes in various colours and combinations of tweed and canvas. I was impressed by its robustness and liked its design, which is a attractive mix of contemporary and traditional. Highly recommended.

The bag is 15.7" x 11" x 5". A smaller version is due soon. See Hawkesmill for more information.

I was not compensated for this post. The bag was lent to me for the purposes of the review.

Chapman Bags: Eleven Things You Need to Know About Man Bags By Daniel Chamier

Chapman Bags are made in Carlisle, England. It was founded in the 1980s by John Chapman who made shooting and fishing bags which he sold around the world. John Chapman is no longer involved in the business, but the sporting heritage is still evident in the style of the bags, giving them their practicability and robustness. 

My Chapman Traveller 19 - all ready for the summer sun

I've been using a Chapman Traveller 19 and have found it stylish and ideal for cabin luggage, weekends and short breaks. Robust and well-made, this is an ideal holiday companion.

Stitching a webbing strap

Chapman Bags is now headed by Daniel Chamier who gives some helpful and expert advice on selecting a bag below.

Eleven things to know about bags for men, by Daniel Chamier

1. No bag does it all:

No-one has yet designed a bag that does it all. You can, however, boil your collection down to around three styles. The first is a handheld bag suitable for work, reasonably slim so you can travel without obstruction and suitable if necessary for wearing with a suit. In the old days this would have been a briefcase; nowadays the choice is much wider and many would include a tote in this category. The second is a piece of luggage suitable for carrying onto a plane or for a weekend away. While small pieces of rolling luggage are very popular, frankly they can look a bit naff trailing behind a bloke. The third is more leisure orientated, likely to be carried on the shoulder or the back and could include a touring bag or a rucksack depending on your personal preference and habits. 

2. Do you really need all those features?

My view is that most bags only need a handful of essential features: first, an exterior pocket for keys and so forth; second, at least one internal divider or pocket to help with organisation; and finally in the case of luggage a lockable zip, the best being the kind with interlocking metal circles. 

3. You generally get what you pay for

While labour rates vary enormously around the world, one thing which does not change much is the cost of high quality materials and fittings. The inevitable consequence of this is that if you buy a cheap bag, you will also be buying cheap materials and fittings. Beware especially cheap bags which look expensive. This can only be achieved by using second or third rate materials and the bag may well fail you quite quickly. 

From the Chapman archive

4. No bag will last forever

Well that’s not strictly true, but it does depend how you use it. My general rule of thumb is that the life of a decent quality work bag can be measured as follows: Ly = 25/Dn where L equals the useful life of the bag in years and D equals the number of days a working week (defined as 5 days) it receives serious use. So if you use a good quality work bag hard every working day, it should last you around 5 years, or 10 years if only 2.5 days a week. Luggage can last a very long time indeed, a lifetime even, if used sparingly. You can help ensure your bags last longer by buying well and looking after them (see below!). 

5. How to check leather is good quality

The most expensive bags are generally full leather, essentially because of the cost of the raw materials. If you are buying what you think is a leather bag and it’s relatively cheap compared to similar products, you should check whether it is actually made from real leather. Real leather wrinkles and “gives” when you press it. The absence of natural variation is usually a giveaway on man-made materials, although not definitive. 

If your bag has leather fittings (e.g. straps) check that these are robust, reasonably stiff and at least 2-3mm thick. Beware cheap leather fittings with interior fillers used to reduce cost; they may disintegrate. Avoid leather bags with poor quality edge paint on the side of straps, particularly the type of inflexible edge paint “filler” which cracks when bent. 

 Chapman Traveller 19 

6. How to check canvas is good quality

Originally canvas was a rough material woven from jute or hemp and often used for sail making. Modern canvas tends to be cotton. Its quality and fitness for purpose will depend on a number of factors including thickness, water proofing, lightfastness and abrasion resistance. My view is that Man Bags should be made from canvas of around 18oz weight or more, or they will tend to wear through relatively quickly. The colours of all natural materials will tend to fade and wear over time. If this is a concern to you, then ask the manufacturers whether they test their materials for lightfastness and abrasion (dry and wet rub). Ideally canvas should be proofed (like waxed cotton) or laminated with a waterproof membrane to protect against rainfall. 

7. Hardware and zips

A bag’s functionality and longevity will also depend on the quality of the fastenings, closures and general hardware. Main zips should be made of metal (unless there is a specific reason for using a nylon zip such as on a gun cover) and run smoothly and securely. The best known manufacturers are YKK and RiRi, although the latter come at a substantial premium. Quality hardware is usually made from brass or brass coated with nickel, gold or copper plating. Steel hardware should be avoided as it will tend to rust. Poor quality brass can often be identified by pitting on the surface of the metal. 

8. Check a shoulder strap for material and fittings

Shoulder straps are vulnerable to degradation of the strap material and failure of the fastenings (in the case of a detachable shoulder strap) or anchor points. Make sure your strap has a nice thick webbing with a tight weave and a reasonable degree of stiffness. The quality of full leather straps will depend on the leather itself (see above) and the fastenings. Make sure the latter are reasonably chunky and solid and the anchor points have lots of stitching. Remember also, rivets are less secure than stitches; in the wrong kind of material rivets are simply holes waiting to happen. Smaller anchor points on thinner material should ideally have reinforced back panels to avoid the material ripping. 

Hardware for a Chapman bag

9. Check the wear points

All bags have points which are subject to more stress than others. For instance, luggage will tend to stress around the base corners and the shoulder strap anchor points. Shoulder bags will tend to rub against the body in certain places and may also wear around the base corners when placed on the ground. 

Rucksack straps and back panels will be first in the firing line. Important fastenings like buckles, zips and straps will be potentially vulnerable on many bags. High quality bags will anticipate these issues by using expensive materials and fittings and by incorporating added protection like metal feet and leather panels and corners on potential wear points. A good tip is to stick to bags with simple fastenings and closures like buckles, straps and Sam Browne studs. Magnetic closures can work fine but are less secure and vulnerable to degradation, so best avoided on important Man Bag fastenings. 

10. Colours don't last forever

We all have our favourite colours but you need to remember that they will fade and wear in time, especially in natural materials like cotton canvas. Generally speaking dark colours fade more noticeably, especially Navy. Lighter colours like Khaki also fade but it’s less noticeable. Synthetic materials like nylon may retain their original colour for longer but they tend to wear less gracefully over time. Prolonged exposure to sunlight will wash out most colours quite quickly. In the desert, pretty much all colours end up looking the same after a while! This may sound alarming but when you think about it your work bag is unlikely to see that much direct sunlight even if you use it every day; unless of course you have a major walk or cycle to work, in which case you might want to get something a bit more prosaic for the journey and keep something nicer at work. 

Looking after your bag

11. Care, guarantees and repairs

Never ever put your bag in a washing machine (yes, people do that). Don’t send it to be dry cleaned. Don’t leave it on a radiator when it’s got wet. Those are the 3 golden rules. Canvas or material bags should be cleaned with soapy water and left to dry naturally. Leather should be cleaned, perhaps with a lightly dampened cloth, left to dry naturally then rubbed with a leather cream or restorer. Although brass tarnishes naturally, hardware can be kept shiny with a metal cleaner. 

If you are still confused about which bag to buy, or would like to discuss any of the points raised in this article, please feel free to call our helpline during working hours on +44 (0)1228 514514. 

See Chapman Bags

[Grey Fox: I received no payment for this guest feature. The Chapman bag was given to me for review and all opinions expressed in that part of this piece are my own.]

Millican bags - Mark the Field Bag, for rural & urban explorers

Sometimes an explorer needs a bag more accessible and less bulky than a rucksack. Botanists, searching the wilderness for exotic plants, would use a shoulder-hung specimen bag. This would carry everything from plant cuttings, to camera, notebooks and sandwiches and be easier to get into than a back-mounted pack. Millican, the Lake District-based company, have taken an old concept and brought it up to date with their Mark the Field Bag which sits alongside a wide and interesting collection of bags, sacks and accessories. 

Jeans, Quantock Menswear and Shetland jumper, Leith Clothing. Both Made in UK.

I was after a bag of this type for my explorations in Cumbria and for walking Harry, whose dog treats and lead fit alongside my camera, water bottle and whatever interesting objects we find on our wanderings. At my request, Millican generously sent me one of their limited edition (50 only) field bags to try. The smart grey is stylishly set off by a rich orange lining (a favourite colour combination of mine and one used on this blog). Beautifully made, the 33cm wide canvas bag contains many pockets and has cunning leather straps with poppers which allow easy one-handed opening and closing.

And I've used the bag in the city too. It carries a laptop, camera and notebooks with ease and its wide canvas shoulder strap makes it comfortable to carry. But somehow I feel its heart is in the country, worn by the intrepid naturalist. Now; where's my butterfly net?

See Millican's website for more information and to buy. The limited edition Mark the Field bag is here. In its non-limited edition guise, Mark the Field Bag also comes in various other rustic colours.

Holdall & Co: leather goods made in England - 30% off sale

Holdall & Co have been mentioned many times on this blog before. Their beautifully made leather folios, brief cases and wallets are made in England to the highest standards. Founder Rai Navickaite is offering an end of season reduction of 30% for seven days with a discount code of SUMMER30. 

In these images I am holding some of Rai's products. The images were shot by Jonathan Daniel Pryce in the City of London. Visit Holdall & Co for full details and to buy.

Catherine Aitken - Harris tweed bags and accessories made in Scotland

Catherine Aitken's studio is in Leith, Edinburgh, where she creates bags, scarves and other accessories for both men and women from Harris tweed and other high quality materials. Catherine sent some of her products for me to have a look at. All are beautifully-made. 

I love bags made from tweed. As a material, it's strong, comfortable and the colours go with anything. The duffel bag is robust, comfortable to use and well-designed.

For more information and to buy, visit Catherine Aitken's website and blog. To see her collection of men's bags and scarves, visit here.

Cherchbi Squires holdalls for town and country - the best of British design

Cherchbi is one of the brands that fuelled my enthusiasm for British-made goods. It has all the ingredients I like; an enthusiastic owner in Adam Atkinson, always ready for a chat on our frequent meetings; the best materials including wool from the historic Herdwick sheep of my beloved Cumbria and outstanding design, manufacture and style.

Cherchbi Squires large brown

Cherchbi Squires large grey

Cherchbi produce many products, most based around leather and Herdwick wool. I'm focusing here on their Squires holdalls, available in large and medium and in grey and brown Herdwick tweed. The two colours struck me as ideal for town and country bags, should you be tempted to have one for each use. 

Cherchbi Squires medium

These bags have to be seen in the flesh to appreciate the design and the beauty of the construction. From Cherchbi.

Friday Favourite: Tusting Clipper leather bag made in England

I'd been looking for a useful bag for months. It had to be a comfortable shoulder bag, not too bulky, and take what I need for blogging; a camera, notebook, pens, newspaper, phone, bottle of water and biscuits for emergencies. And, of course, it had to look stylish. 

I chose the Tusting Clipper in Aztec crazyhorse, an attractive leather finish that prevents the bag looking too formal. It has a compact, yet roomy, shape and is now in use for everything from blogging to shopping.

A well-designed bag that is highly recommended. Made in a Buckinghamshire village by Tusting. For more about this family business, visit their website here and buy a bag for life (they'll maintain it for you as well).

And until Christmas visit the pop-up shop at 39 Jermyn Street London where Tusting is joined by a number of the best Made in England menswear suppliers, including Marwood, Alice Made This and Hamilton & Hare.

Ruxx Bags - Made in England

Ruxx Bags is a brand new to me. They hand-make their bags in Oxfordshire, England and their recently-relaunched website includes a man's Alex Document Bag which drew my eye. Both handsome and practical, it serves as a backpack or briefcase.

Ruxx are planning to extend their men's range for next year. For more information and to buy visit their website here. 

The video below shows the story behind the brand. Watch how the fluffy dog disconcertingly turns into a bag and back into a dog.

Friday Favourites: Trakke bags, The Sock Council Argyle socks

Trakke Bags

I've written about Trakke Bags here before and said how impressed I was by this small Scottish business's design and manufacture. They've just released their latest collaboration, with textile designers Timorous Beasties. In order to create the desired effect, they developed a way of digitally printing waxed cotton, something that they tell me hasn't been done before, as far as they're aware!

For bags for cyclists, adventurers and city slickers, see Trakke's website

The Sock Council

I'm a fan of Argyle patterns. The Sock Council sells rather splendid Argyle pattern socks in an attractive range of colours. 'Nuff said really. Go to their website (below) to find out more.

See The Sock Council website.

Emma Cornes talks about her British-made bags and manufacturing in the UK

Emma Cornes grew up in the Tweed Valley where here father was a wool-producing sheep farmer. It's therefore natural, perhaps, that she should have become a passionate producer of British-made bags, designing and selling her products from her base in Cheshire. 

Many of Emma's bags are designed for men, so I asked Emma to tell us something about her business. For more information on the bags, or to visit her shop, go to her website.

Last year’s Sadler messenger bag. Emma plans to launch this year’s version with leather base in Autumn 2014.

Emma's Cheshire studio - leatherwork laid out ready for another batch of bags

"How it all began

It all started with a little domestic sewing machine at the kitchen table. That and a love for Scottish woven cloth and a frustration at not being able to find a new bag. 

I’m the kind of person who only ever has one bag at a time. It has to work for every occasion. I’d use them until they were threadbare, then struggle to find a replacement. I guess I probably shouldn’t be a bagmaker, but it turns out I’m not the only person who uses bags this way.

Emma's range of iPad sized Fairweather messenger bags, including a couple of special editions in Dashing Tweeds cloth

I started my bag making journey with the source of all knowledge - Google. A few YouTube tutorials later I just got stuck-in. The first months were spent making really awful bags, but after a while I had a few that were acceptable enough to take along and test at a few local markets. 

After a while I was getting the hang of things and people liked what I was doing. And once word got round loads of people offered my help with everything from leatherwork to coping with cash flow.

Emma's stand at Olympia in 2014 - how things have moved on

Almost two years to the day since I first fired up my little Singer I found myself knocking at the door of a noisy Victorian building in the Midlands. I was there to deliver materials for our first batch of bags to be made by a manufacturer rather than by myself.

Why outsource our manufacture?

2013 was crazy. I made and sold just under 300 bags, got an online shop up and running, exhibited at 17 shows up and down the country, designed and launched 10 different products…The problem was I had no time to do anything else. I was making lots of bags, but had no time to tell anyone about them. Something had to change.

My husband Pete joined the business full time in January. The first and biggest decision we made was to move manufacture out of our house to free up out time. After some research and a bit of experimenting we decided we’d like to hire the service of another manufacturer. 

Emma's bags were originally designed for women, but her simple, classic designs have proved popular with men.

How did we find our manufacturer?

They found us. We’re fortune that the British manufacturer we’ve decided to use actually approached us at an event. From their initial enthusiasm about working with us to the ease of getting great samples made I know they’re going to make a great job. I suspect I’ll be one of the few people who can tell the bags I’ve made apart from the ones they’re making right now – and that’s nothing to do with quality, just the quirks of different sewing machines.

Events like Meet the Manufacturer in London in June have sprung up since I started – I wish I could’ve gone along to something like this a year ago.

What am I working on now?

Since handing over the manufacturing I’ve got time for the fun bit again – designing bags and making prototypes. The first on my list in to create a new version of my Sadler messenger bag (Sadler, not Saddler, named after my friend Tim). This year the Sadler is going to have a full grain leather base and I complete re-design of the internal pockets. Hopefully my new Sadler bags will be ready for the Autumn.

Although I started with the aim of making bags for women it turns out that men love our bags too. And not just to buy as gifts. Last year our messenger bags went to just about as many men. So if you’d like an Emma Cornes bag made by me, Emma, you’d best hurry up. The new bags should arrive in July."

Trakke - video introducing the Scottish manufacturer of outstanding adventure bags

TRAKKE makes truly outstanding adventure bags in Scotland. I'll be writing about them soon, but wanted to introduce them to you with this video. I am a great believer in the power of a story to make a product interesting and here Alec Farmer, Trakke's founder, tells something of his brand's story.

Trakke. Adventure Everywhere. Handmade in Scotland

For more information, see Trakke's website.

Healthy Back bags - minimising back problems

Like many of us, I  occasionally suffer from back problems linked to carrying heavy bags over one shoulder. I often carry a camera, lens, notebook and various tools of the blogger's trade - the weight of which can add up. To minimise the problem, I've been using a Healthy Back bag, developed specifically to combat the problems of weight stress caused by carrying a single strap bag. 

Healthy Back bags - The Vintage Canvas (L) and Expedition (R)

The problem with most bags is that they pull away from the body, causing you to compensate by leaning and twisting. The fact is, the more places a bag touches your body when you wear it, the lighter it feels – it becomes part of you – and this encourages good posture. The Healthy Back Bag’s patented shape contours to your spine, rather than pulling away from your body. It distributes the weight across your back, rather than pulling down from one point on your shoulder. I find it very comfortable to use and have had no problems after using one to carry my gear around in.

For SS14 Healthy Back bags have introduced a range of colours and designs, from camo khaki to bright pastel hues and in a range of fabrics and textures. I tend to go for the more sober - but there are colours for all tastes. See the website at www.thehealthybackbag.co.uk/