If you wear a suit to work, it’s verboten to arrive also wearing a backpack or messenger. Those are for students and people who deliver things on bicycles. Them’s the rules.
But this new briefcase by local leathersmith Headlands is so handsome and understated that even those who arrive jean-clad will want to make the upgrade.
Headlands has been making wallets, valets, dopp kits and home accessories for a few years. It started as the passion project of landscape architect Scott Goodman; now it’s a full-time gig he runs in partnership with his wife.
Goodman looks around the country for high-quality leather, like used English Bridle from Wickett & Craig, a venerable Pennsylvania tannery. He then contrasts the rich blacks and tans of the hide with a royal thread he gets from Lewiston, Maine.
And he’s happy to customize the exact details to each and every buyer.
The new briefcase is Goodman’s first foray into everyday bags, and it doesn’t disappoint. Made from a single piece of leather, the case measures 13.5” x 10” — the perfect size for most notebooks or tablets and a couple manila folders. It’s light, compact and easy on the eye, and you can expect the leather to develop a gorgeous patina that’ll render it completely sui generis with a few months of everyday use.
Which shouldn’t be a problem: when a bag looks like this, everyday use is an honor and a privilege.
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