Narragansett Leathers - handmade briefcase

[djmike523]

Soon I'll be a newly minted, incredibly debt-laden, unemployed attorney.

(Definitely banking on the income-based repayment plan from the Fed's; if that didn't exist I'd be obligated to pay ~ 2/3 of my expected take-home pay on loan repayment...for the next 10 years.)

Looking for a nice briefcase. I've read the chatter on here about the various makers; they all make nicer products than can generally be found in retail chain stores, and, their prices are certainly commensurate.

I stumbled upon narragansettleathers.com in my quest for: handmade briefcase made from quality leather -I personally like bridle leather- by a skilled artisan.

Despite the name, the business is located in Maine, not Rhode Island. Their pictures aren't great on the site -at all- but, the detailed photos the proprietor sent me are definitely much, much better!

Plus, their prices are much, much lower than the names being tossed around here. And, unlike the most famous of those names, Narrangansett's are made in the good ol' U S of A.

I'm definitely interested in pulling the trigger -they're hand made to the individual's particular desires, so in a sense they're one of a kind items built depending on: where you want a pocket, color, shape of edges, etc... - Have any of you gents ever experienced their goods?

 

[tgr5m]

These look nice. Though I'd love to see one in person, or at least some reviews of their bags. The price is great. I'm sort of in the same position as you money wise, though mine is due to my recent wedding "groan", but am in the market for a nice leather bag.

I've considered whether to just carry on with a cheap crappy bag and wait a few years for say, a mitchell leather bag, or get something like this and see how it hold up. But then again, I guess $250'ish IS pretty cheap, even if it only lasts me 2 or 3 years.

 

[Silvermine14]

Narragansett Leathers makes a range of quality products. Their shop is in Damariscotta, just up the road from where my folks live. I love to browse there when I'm visiting and have purchased two custom belts (a double-ring and a ranger). Alan, the owner, is a real craftsman--so your handmade briefcase is going to be an heirloom.

Best of luck.

 

[Sam]

I found this website also and I am impressed. A little bit less rustic than the briefcases at Saddleback and the prices are half of what Saddleback charges. Anyone get one?

 

[Stubblefield]

Wow, nice find. Def a better deal than a Filson bridle leather briefcase.

 

[slider643]

If you're willing to spend a little more, I would highly recommend Glaser Designs (www.glaserdesigns.com) in San Francisco. I was able to meet them in person, but I've also heard that they do skype if you can't make it out to SF.

 

[Doc4]

um ... you can afford this?

I'd say go hunt through the local second-hand shops for a full-of-character old-timer leather briefcase for $10, and use that until you are well-enough employed to feed yourself something more than generic knock-off "Kruft Dinner".

You can tell people that it belonged to your great-grandfather who was the only lawyer in Pig-poke Nebraska back in the 1920s, and so forth.

 

[kmfrank]

I found this website also and I am impressed. A little bit less rustic than the briefcases at Saddleback and the prices are half of what Saddleback charges. Anyone get one?

You think these are LESS rustic than Saddleback? I thought exactly the opposite.

The Saddlebacks were definitely neato and looked to be built like tanks, but when I saw the Mitchell I fell in love and saved up for it. Took me more than a year, but I finally got to a place financially where I could afford it, and I've already had 5 attendings give me jealous looks, and several others mistake me FOR an attending because the briefcase is so awesome.

The jealousy is worth every dollar.

 

[dklaiman]

um ... you can afford this?
:

I agree with this. I've been practicing for nearly 20 years and have yet to need a nice briefcase--when I'm in court, I use a cheap vinyl sided litigator case that holds everything. I've been on our hiring committee and certainly wouldn't downgrade an applicant if he or she didn't have a nice briefcase. Now, if you walked in with a bad shave, ...

 

[scottish steve]

They look good, except for the unfinished edges. I got myself an Apples briefcase here in Suzhou. It was 2,980 yuan, or approx $500 but I got it on sale for 800 or about $120. I went to the nearest Louis Vuitton store to compare quality and found a very nice briefcase which was all in black, about 30% bigger and possibly better quality. I'm not experienced enough to be able to tell exactly and TBH I'm sure if the products were reversed I'd assume the one I bought was better if it'd said Louis Vuitton on it. LV wanted 20,000 yuan for their case, or $3,000