Designing the Packaging

August 23, 2018

The starting point for our packaging was agreeing that we didn’t want a big wooden box.

There were two main objections to wood - firstly, there are so many parts to the journey between forest and finished product that I just don't completely trust that a hardwood has been sourced in a sustainable manner. Secondly, when working out where to invest money in a product, it seemed silly to spend it on something which’d sit collecting dust on your shelf. So instead, the packaging is built around a beautiful leather travel case.

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Finding the right leather 

We got a little obsessed with choosing the right leather and ended up visiting Milan’s Lineapelle show to see, touch and smell it all in person!

The tannery which really stood out was a small, vegetable tanning outfit near Florence, Italy. The region is known for its leather and rightly so.  

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The devil is in the details

We use several colours of full grain, veg tanned, pebble grained leather for the cases with suede linings and YKK zips. 

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The box 

The outer box is made in London by W MacCarthy & Sons, a company run by 5 successive generations for 135 years. The box is made from card which is wrapped in paper made in Scotland by Arjowiggins. We've debossed the lid with our logo in clear foil. 

Our tissue paper is taken from OS maps around Loch anOrdain, and the cleaning cloth is made for us in England by Selvyt. The warranty card and certificate are printed locally. 

Packaging is an area which is often overlooked and outsourced far away, but working closer to home with craftsmen who really know their stuff is a great experience for us as designers, and goes a little way to supporting local industry.