Modern Craft

Modern Craft showcases our personal selections from today’s leading leather craftspeople.
These items are chosen as natural companions to our vintage stock; handmade, well-designed and using only the best materials.

MACGREGOR AND MICHAEL, MADE IN ENGLAND

Neil MacGregor and Valerie Michael have an international reputation as designers and makers of fine, high quality, hand-stitched leather goods. They have been making by hand in an artisanal workshop in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, since 1974 and use only the best leathers, sourcing or commissioning hardware in brass and silver.

“Our designs aim to reveal something about the nature of leather and craftsmanship, while addressing the practical needs of our customers. The leathers we use are vegetable-tanned, the active ingredients coming from the bark and leaves of various trees and shrubs. We use no machinery in the making, preferring the direct simplicity of hand tools and the quiet rhythms of the workshop.

Surprisingly few people have ever experienced making something without the aid of machinery. In our workshops we are able to show the connections between our contemporary designs and the fine leather items of the past.”

"Things men have made with wakened hands and put soft life into,
are awake through years with transferred touch, and go on glowing
for long years.
And for this reason, some old things are lovely,
warm still with the life of forgotten men who made them.”

D H Lawrence, ‘Things Men Have Made’

Biography: MacGregor & Michael have work in the permanent collections of Walsall Leather Museum, the Museum of Leathercraft, Northampton and the Colomer Leather Museum in Vich, Spain.

Published: 'The Leatherworking Handbook' by Valerie Michael. Published by Cassell 1993.

Neil MacGregor and Valerie Michael
Founders of MacGregor & Michael
  • Top Frame Briefcase by MacGregor and Michael
    Top Frame Briefcase by MacGregor and Michael
    Regular price
    £3,900.00
    Sale price
    £3,900.00
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  • J & FJ Bakers “Russia Hide" Luggage Tag by MacGregor and Michael
    J & FJ Bakers “Russia Hide
    Regular price
    £290.00
    Sale price
    £290.00
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  • Key Ring by MacGregor and Michael
    Key Ring by MacGregor and Michael
    Regular price
    £65.00
    Sale price
    £65.00
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AERO CONCEPT, MADE IN JAPAN

Keiichi Sugano was born in Tokyo in 1951. His career as a craftsman began in a workshop inherited from his grandfather, designing components for companies such as Boeing and the world renowned Shinkansen bullet train. 

The formation of his Aero Concept label was something of an accident, born from a chance encounter with an architect who noticed a blueprint case Keiichi had built himself with materials from his workshop. After being commissioned to build another, word began to spread and the Aero Concept moniker began to take shape.

While modern manufacturing often demands the exacting standards of robotic machinery, Keiichi has set out to emulate this with his own hand and eye. The result of this lifelong endeavour is a series of products of excellent quality, flawless execution and timeless style. His use of vegetable-tanned leather and aircraft quality duralumin alloy ensures each case mellows with use but retains its strength, with our founder Tim carrying the same card case since he tracked down Keiichi in 2006 having bought a card case from the Tokyo menswear mecca, Isetan Men’s Store. 

While ten thousand hours is often considered the benchmark of mastery in Western cultures, to be considered a ‘Takumi’, or artisan, in Japan necessitates sixty thousand hours of continuous improvement and dedication to a single chosen craft. With an eight hour day and 230-day working year, this amounts to thirty two years of service in a specific sector. We have no control over what Kei produces or how long it will take, but we know with certainty that it will not leave his workshop until it is finished at the highest standard. 

Aero Concept is exclusively available in Europe at Bentleys. To discuss a bespoke commission or find out more about our range, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Keiichi Sugano
Founder of Aero Concept
  • Card Cases
    Card Cases
    Regular price
    from £265.00
    Sale price
    from £265.00
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  • Money Clips
    Money Clips
    Regular price
    £255.00
    Sale price
    £255.00
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  • Aero Concept Glasses/Cufflink/Watch Cases
    Aero Concept Glasses/Cufflink/Watch Cases
    Regular price
    from £655.00
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    from £655.00
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  • Vulcanite Finish Portfolio Case
    Vulcanite Finish Portfolio Case
    Regular price
    £1,850.00
    Sale price
    £1,850.00
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  • Raw Duralumin Attaché Case
    Raw Duralumin Attaché Case
    Regular price
    £3,750.00
    Sale price
    £3,750.00
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  • Raw Duralumin Attaché Case
    Raw Duralumin Attaché Case
    Regular price
    £3,750.00
    Sale price
    £3,750.00
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    Unit price
    per 
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  • Raw Duralumin Attaché Case
    Raw Duralumin Attaché Case
    Regular price
    £3,750.00
    Sale price
    £3,750.00
    Regular price
    Unit price
    per 
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