I recently picked up a Ghurka eyewear sleeve. The design is nice and simple – something that’s surprisingly difficult to find, for some reason – but the leather leaves a lot to be desired. I’m not sure if that’s any indication of the quality of their bags, as sometimes companies pad the margins on some products to make up for the thin margins on others. For what it’s worth, however, I’ve heard that their “vintage” line (meaning this not this) is made from higher quality leathers, which makes me think if one was to ever purchase a pricier item from them, it’s best to stick to those.
I still very much like their designs though. In bumping around looking for information about the company, I found this remarkable set of photos by Jin Hidaka. These are all vintage pieces by companies such as Brady, Willis & Geiger, Mulberry, and yes, Ghurka (the Marley Hodgson version). I’m only including some shots here, but you should head over to Jin’s Flickr account to see the rest. They exhibit such a handsome and romantic sense of adventure; one that makes me think maybe I need a few pieces for myself.