One of my favorite purchases last year was a custom-made, black boxcalf folio I commissioned from Chester Mox. I’ve written about the company a dozen times before, but they’re one of my favorite makers. Bellanie, the woman behind the husband-and-wife team, graduated a few years ago from an apprenticeship she took with a former Hermes artisan. Her work today is comparable to the best I’ve seen anywhere – including Hermes – but is sold at a fraction of the price.
The quality is all in the stitching. Machine-sewn leather goods have straight stitches, such that each stitch sits perfectly in-line with the next. Handsewn leather goods, on the other hand, are made with what’s known as a saddle-stitch. That’s when two needles pass through the same hole, either with an awl first piercing that hole and guiding a needle through, or with the holes punched by hand using a pricking iron. The technique is laborious, but it results in a stronger seam. Whereas machine-sewn seams can unravel if one stitch breaks, saddle-sewn seams have to be picked apart using a special tool.
Frankly, I mostly like them for aesthetic reasons. Machine-sewn seams have visible holes in-between each stitch, but saddle-sewn seams look clean and tight. For people who appreciate craft, the work is beautiful in its own right.
The black folio I commissioned has been great. For someone who only carries a laptop, a charger, and some reading papers to work, it’s lighter and easier to manage than a briefcase. I’ve liked it so much that I’m thinking about commissioning another, but in a more casual color to go with sport coats. Bellanie tells me she has some new materials.
One is called Marocalf, which is a slightly textured boxcalf that’s been specially tanned for use in leather goods (Marocalf draws its name from maroquinerie, the French word for leather goods). As a semi-aniline leather, it’s a bit more resistant to water and stains. Chester Mox has it in two colors – a mid- and dark-brown that’s exclusive to them, the first of which is pictured at the top of this post. I like how the leather has a subtle texture to it, although it’s hard to see in the photo.
They also have some new alligator and crocodile skins from Heng Long in Singapore, one of the best producers for exotics. The leathers are exceptionally soft and flexible, allowing them to maintain their shape and appearance without the crinkly texture you sometimes see on old alligator leathers. I’ve used this black alligator eyewear sleeve for the last couple of years and it looks about the same as the day I received it. Chester Mox has the same quality skins in mottled marigold and gray, the second of which is pictured above. Bellanie says they’ve been hand padded to give them that variegation in color.
For hardware, Chester Mox has a new partner in Italy. The company specializes in finely tuned combination locks, which give a discernible click when you turn them. I’m not sure how I feel about them on a folio, but they look like they’d be great on a briefcase. Simpson in London uses the same supplier for their cases.
Finally, some news about Chester Mox’s wallets, which are really their bread-and-butter. Earlier this summer, they came out with two new models. Their #54 is a compact bi-fold made from a soft Italian shell cordovan (cut a little thinner than Horween’s shell, which I find makes it more suitable for a small leather accessory). There’s also #59, pictured directly above but not yet on the site. That’s a small card case with two front pockets and a middle compartment. Since everything is made-on-order, customers can also request the case to be made with two extra pockets on the back.
Bellanie is now also offering a new pocket style for her bi-folds. The technique is known as tranché (French for “sliced”). It requires the wallet to be completely lined, but results in a thinner, more compact wallet. With other styles, the maker needs to stack separate pieces of leather on top of each other, like what you see directly below. With a tranché style, however, you can have multiple pockets with just one piece of leather. Bellanie finishes her pockets with a bit of scoring under each opening, just to give them some stylistic detailing.
The hardest part about getting something from Chester Mox is settling on the design – the leather and color combinations, the choice of thread, and if you’re getting something off the beaten path, coming up with the details. If you have an idea of something you’d like, however, I recommend checking here first for prices. For handsewn leather goods, I haven’t found a better source.
(photos via Chester Mox).
