Amongst the steely grey warehouse in Huyton, where all forms of business take place, there is a unassuming warehouse covered in drapes of leather about to blow out 50 candles.
Belts, bags and satchels cascade down the walls as a dedicated few huddle around their workspace and proudly carry the flame of “Made in England”. Born out of a garage in Huyton, this satchel first saw the light of day at Wembley in 1966 in a modest street stall. It hasn’t always been easy in a world where businesses have been packaged, chopped and sent off to the Far East to keep prices low, but The Leather Satchel persevered – and at one point they were the only company in the UK making satchels in the early 90’s. Today, they struggle to keep up with demand, ship their satchels to every crevice of the world and have the likes of Alexa Chung walking around with one. This is more than a story of a family business, more than a story about a beautiful and handcrafted satchel, it is the story of the underdog and how they defied every odd to win.
As they celebrate all they’ve achieved in the last 50 years, they also need you to secure the next 50 years. The Leather Satchel Co. is launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise £50,000 for an online tool that allows customers to design their own unique satchels. Under the headline #MyBagMyStory, the month-long campaign will launch on 8 March 2016. The state-of-the-art customisation tool will allow customers to choose their own design and preview their bag in real time. With thousands of different style variations available, the personalisation tool will allow customers to make their satchels as distinctive as they like, with each bag telling its own unique story. Just like you, for you. Supporters of the campaign can pledge upwards of £15 to fund the online design tool, until 6 April 2016, with a wide variety of personalised bags, satchels and experiences offered as rewards for supporting the campaign.
Keith Hanshaw, managing director of The Leather Satchel Co. said
“Our bags last for decades, and each one tells a unique story, not just through its design, but through the way it ages. We want to show people just how distinctive we can make our bags and exactly what we can do to personalise each individual bag. We can make whatever anybody wants, we can craft their ideal bag designed to fit their lifestyle, but at the moment people are unaware of what we’re capable of making for them. The purpose of the Kick-starter is to fund a crafting tool so that people can go online and start designing their own bags.”
You know their story, now you can design your own if enough people get behind this incredibly inspiring institution. Everyone in the building all came from humble beginnings and haven’t lost the reason why they’re doing it along the way. Uncountable generations of the family work there and it is hard to separate the employees from the family at times. It shouldn’t be a unique selling point that something is made in our own country but it sadly is. It shouldn’t be refreshing to see people hand cut and make by hand rather than a machine churning out hundreds by the hour but it sadly is. At the end of the day, that is kind of what makes this business and product so special. It is personal, lovingly handmade in its most beautiful form and a reminder that we’ve still got a domestic spark.
Support them here.