The Game is Afoot

The search for a small messenger style bag drew several excellent reader suggestions (what appears to be the perfect camera bag is on the way from a Billingham's reseller) that provided grist for the mill. So, armed with a plethora of anachronistic phrases, a friend and I set out in the rain to visit San Francisco's Glaser Designs.

Glaser Designs is a leather goods maker that specializes in bespoke carry-on bags and briefcases. And just a few minutes into a tour of their facility, it was obvious why the bespoke shoemakers of my acquaintance send their luggage offerings out to be made by a specialist. Leather is virtually the only thing the two crafts have in common, and even there the types of leather used are different. In the photo, Myron Glaser is explaining how he colors the two or three hides that go into a typical bag.


Kari Glaser is the firm's designer, and after some discussion she offered to make a prototype of a small bag that would combine the features of the two bags in the photo. More masculine than the handbag on the left, the prototype will be designed to hold assorted oddments including a cell phone, wallet, music player, reading glasses, and pens.


One of the more impressive aspects of Glaser Designs' work is that their products have more than just a pretty face. Each interior is designed to perform its mission efficiently. For example, as seen in the photo, accessory holders are attached to heavy duty velcro, so items can be added or removed as the situation warrants.

What I have been calling a small messenger bag may prove to be something else altogether but the prototype will be completed in about a month. And we will check in during the process to see how it is coming along.

The game is afoot.