The library

A satchel and a hardback have more in common than most people notice. Both have a cover that lifts, a spine that takes the weight, and an inside that only shows when you open them. VOSKELI starts from that resemblance and follows it all the way through.

The cover, the spine, the first line

The flap of every VOSKELI satchel is cut like the front board of a hardcover, with a raised border around its edge. The sides are shaped like a book spine, with two raised bands and a blank label panel where a title would be stamped. Two brass-tone corner protectors sit on the flap, the way they do on library books that are borrowed often. Under the flap, a short grosgrain ribbon hangs like a bookmark.

Open it, and the cotton lining is printed with a sentence: the first line of a book that does not exist. Every piece in the catalogue is named after one of these invented books. The Salt Ledger begins with a grandmother’s ledger carried page by page across the harbour; Short Story decides to begin at the end. What happens next is up to whoever carries it.

One binding, five shelves

The same details run through everything we make, so the pieces belong together:

• Leather Satchels — eleven- to fifteen-inch formats, from a compact satchel for an A5 notebook to a backpack satchel for a 15-inch laptop.
• Mini Satchels — seven to nine and a half inches, worn crossbody for a phone, keys and a wallet.
• Satchel Straps — second straps and replacements in the same five colours.
• Pencil & Pen Cases — small hardbacks with zips running around the fore-edge.
• Leather Bag Charms — tiny books, bookmarks and index tabs on brass-tone clips.

Each piece has a call number, like a library book: S for satchels, M for minis, R for straps, P for pencil cases and C for charms. The timetable puts four of them together for work, for class and for the weekend.

What they are made of

We use cowhide leather in a smooth or pebble-grain finish and cowhide suede, with cotton canvas linings and brass-tone metal hardware. Leather is a natural material, so every piece differs slightly in grain and shade, and it softens and darkens as you use it. We describe our materials plainly and do not make claims we cannot support. The details, and how to look after them, are on Leather & care.

The colours

There are five: Oxford Blue, Chestnut, Parchment, Oxblood and Ink Black — the colours of old cloth bindings, reading-room leather and paper that has been read in the sun. Not every piece comes in every colour, but every satchel has a strap, a case and a charm that match it.