UNDSCVRD

March 21st, 2011 | Posted in: fashion, websites

Sorry for not posting as frequent as I should have lately. But I have a good excuse. It’s called UNDSCVRD, which launched last week.

UNDSCVRD is a webshop with bags and accessories for men only. It is a selection of brands that focus entirely on creating bags and accessories, resulting in highly specialized products. All together they form a great collection of brands that you otherwise might not have found anywhere.

That is exactly the reason why I started UNDSCVRD. Over the years I found a lot of great brands, online and offline. But one thing I never found was one place where I could go to find these brands, be inspired and buy what I wanted. So, after looking for quite some time I decided to do it myself.

We have launched with 6 great brands. Property Of… from Singapore, QWSTION from Switzerland and the Dutch Travelteq. Besides this you find the collections of Artists Not Armies, Cote Et Ciel, and the products by Dutch designer frrry. Other brands will soon be added to the collection to create the most complete offering of great brands. Check out a small selection below.

So if you are looking for an awesome piece of luggage for yourself or a great present for your boyfriend: Go check it out! And of course let me know what you think!

Landmarks & Lions

February 10th, 2011 | Posted in: fashion

As you know I am quite the bags & accessories freak. And I’m always on the look out for cool new brands. And I found one. Or better, they found me. Meet Landmarks & Lions. The brand was founded by creative mind Canyon Crosby. The brand is based on his intense longing to create, develop, and communicate my philosophy of the well-lived life. The products are the result of his creative drive and entrepreneurial spirit combined with personal travel experiences.

And the result is very nice if you ask me. Simple, functional, very well constructed items made out of the finest materials. And added to that, they also happen to look good. All you need, right? The range consists of bags and sleeves for your laptop/ iPad/ iPhone/ Kindle/ Nook. And I have heard a nice collection of leather totes is on the way. Good stuff!

Currently Canyon still makes all the products himself, but I suspect that soon he will need to scale up to meet demand.

AND

I can give away one felt iPhone sleeve (pictured below)! So, drop me an email why your iPhone desperately needs a new sleeve (and your address etc.) and you might be the lucky one…

Property Of… Flagship

August 11th, 2010 | Posted in: fashion, travel

After yesterdays succesfull give-away, I’ll continue on the theme bags today. No freebies today though… But a brand that creates useful, well-made and considered bags will catch my attention and has to be shared, thats for sure. That’s why I was happily surprised to see that a flagship store of bag designers Property Of… opened in my hometown of Amsterdam recently.

The brand was founded by cafe owners Peter Teo & Richard Chamberlainin in 2006. That explains why the store still looks like an old cafe, and why they serve you with some great coffee while browsing the amazing collection.

Besides the understated, practical and tough bags (most of them made out of waxed cotton or canvas and fine leather) they have a nice selection of magazines and books that suit the brand philosophy complimented with other products that are made with similar care and passion.

A welcome addition to my ‘to visit regularly’ list.

Property of…
Herenstraat 2, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Images via Cool Hunting.

Artists Not Armies

August 10th, 2010 | Posted in: art, fashion

Last week I had the honors of meeting Artists Not Armies founder Alexander Tempel, and he introduced me to the label he founded: Artists Not Armies.

AnA is based on the philosophy that this world needs more artists and less armies. Instead of fighting each other and destroying culture, we should create and share. Chrystal clear message if you ask me; and the design of the first bag is just the same. The bag has been bombarded ‘the ultimate shopping bag’ by some already and it is definitely great to have around during a shopping spree. I think that its more than that though. It’ll easily hold your laptop and other daily necessities, so it can erase some boring suitcases from the eye of the public too. More products and designs will be added to the range soon.

So it’s practical, good looking and helps spread a message worth spreading. Thats what we call good design. And the goodness continues: AnA has given me 5 bags to share with you. The scheme: First come, first served. The first 5 to drop me an email will receive a bag.

Now get mailing!

Inujirushi (Dog Brand)

November 8th, 2009 | Posted in: fashion

On Secret Forts I found this article on Inujirushi, which means Dog Brand in Japanese. Inujirushi is a Japanese manufacturer of some great leather trimmed canvas bags, which they have been doing for 50 years now (They also make the well know Japanese Hello Kitty stuff, but I think every Japanese company is obliged by law to make this stuff, so forget about his for now!).

Instead of spending their money on marketing or advertising, Inujirushi rather thrives on customer loyalty and improving their products. Over the course of 50 years they have created a large group of brand loyalists, making it , one of the first companies in the world to adapt the marketing model of the future. And, as long as they keep making good looking quality products like they do now, I am happy to help them out! For example, check out the weekender and the messenger bag below. Brilliant in all its simplicity.

Byrd and Belle

October 14th, 2009 | Posted in: fashion

Check out Byrd and Belle. This is a brand of beautiful, handmade products. The range includes laptop sleeves, iPod/Phone sleeves, wallets and bags. All leather used is hand-dyed in the Byrd and Belle studio using only environmentally friendly dyes. The combination with thick felted merino wool gives the sleeve a premium look. The attention to detail is also great: Look at the placing the leather patch on the bottom of the sleeve, which makes it more comfortable to carry under your arm. Amazing.

Looks like Hard Graft has a serious new competitor if you ask me. Especially because the prices are somewhat more friendly, starting at $68 for the 13″ version.

Available through Etsy.