whatisyourslikenow?

We believe that it’s ok to age.

Celebrating a product’s wear and tear is not really done in the fashion industry.

Companies project illusions of airbrushed perfection.

Many customers want their product to remain static and unchanged from the date of purchase.

Our recent posts fly in the face of this facade.

We are proud of the way our natural eco-tanned leather satchels, wallets, belts and wristbands, get better with age. So we encouraged you to send in photos of your satchel now, telling us what you love most about the way it had aged.

Here at Loyal, we celebrate scuffs, scratches, deepening colours and aging gracefully

We believe that the way your satchel ages, reflects your personality and tells your story.

So we asked #whatsyourslikenow? We are truly humbled by your responses. Our gratitude to everyone that entered. And the Loyal supporter who got their name pulled out of the hat is……(drumroll please) Mark Flintoff Congratulations on winning the Loyal satchel of your choice. To keep. Or give to a loved one for Christmas.

People wrote some beautiful words expressing what their Goodstead or Companion Satchel means to them. Here are a few of the entries that blew our minds.

Jeremy writes,

Wear from almost two years
masked by intentional care and leather wax.
But looking at this satchel
you may catch
glimpses of a scuff and a scratch
from when a twig dispatched me from my longboard.
Feel will reveal the erratic water-droplet warp
from all the times I’ve walked in the rain.
And feel again makes plain
how the sides have changed,
softened and stretched by the weight contained.
And do you hear the buckles clack and ring
as it swings from my shoulder?
It sings for all to hear,
A song of humble creation
in the hands of a woman
working with pride and care.
Raima, as the etching inside declares.
And every time I wear her work
I think of her.
And the hope that these bags secure.

Alice writes,

Why I love my satchel… I’ve grown to enjoy age-ing. I’m ok with my grey and my almost 40 years. My chaffed and well weathered satchel reminds me it’s ok to age. It’s been bashed whilst pushing through crowds on the inner city metro, sat in dark rooms with me, weathered the freezing cold of the Scottish hills, taken the full-on heart of the Asian continent. It doesn’t mind me loading it with ‘stuff’ – in fact, it seems to hold more than I need. Above all, it’s held the rough and the smooth with me. It’s loyal.

Jerram writes,

To My Goodstead Satchel,

I searched for you for what felt like years; I wanted a satchel with meaning; I wanted it to tell a story, I wanted transcendence. I faked it and bought mimics along the way, all the while knowing I hadn’t found what I was looking for.

When my wife and family gave you to me I wasn’t sure you were “it”. You were firm and almost too perfect, you were rigid and didn’t move how I wanted. When I first scratched you I lamented you wouldn’t last, but as I’ve come to appreciate, it’s the scars and bumps that define you, much like humanity.

Your scratches tell a story, your marks give you character, your imperfections make you unique. To pretend you were still brand new and untouched would be a falsehood – you have lived and your marks make you beautiful; each one tells a story.

To keep you locked away and safe from the scrapes of life would be to deny the reason why you were made by Mithu – the lady who lovingly crafted you in Kolkata, India, whose name you bear on the inside.

You remind me that life is for living, that bumps and scrapes – viewed through the lens of grace – are God’s tools for pruning and shaping us; that to hide away from hurt and difficulty would be to deny who I am, would be to abstain from diving into the adventure of life with Yahweh – the one who crafted me, the one whose name I bear on the inside.

Jessica writes,

This bag has been used,
has surprised people over and over with the contents it carries for its small size
This bag has been present in the everyday of life,
has scars to show for it
unique and beautiful
It is soft, despite it all, or maybe because of it
This bag has been well-loved in a way that smoothes
over the scars
like with healing
it has a story to tell

Thanks for partnering with us,
For freedom,

Sarah, Joel and the Loyal crew xx