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Curated Accessories Brand Profile: Property Of…

Property Of… is a gorgeous line of unisex bags and wallets for work, play, and every day. Crafted from sturdy no-nonsense materials, Property Of… bags and wallets are both stylish AND functional. Richard Chamberlain, owner and designer, took some time to tell us more about the line and his design process.

At Art In The Age, we offer the following pieces from Property Of…

(Just to name a few faves! More in the store…)

The Fred Work Bag

The Sam Cycle Bag

The Lex Tote

Tell us the story of how Property Of… began.

The collection began in 2005 with a basic idea to construct men’s bags that combined the lightly structured nature of sports bags with the functional elements and quality of more traditional leather goods.

If you could summarize Property Of… using 3 words, what would they be?

Stylish yet practical.

If you were shopping for a bag or accessory for yourself, what details would immediately attract your attention?

Form, Material, Function…plus that elusive X –factor which is just really a great combination of these elements.

What is the criteria for your material selections?

Simply that they work well for the specific design and will age well.

Was it a conscious decision to go the utilitarian route vs. the more trendy/fashion direction with your line?

Yes. Our aim is to design bags that work and age well for our customers.

How do you arrive at the non-traditional silhouettes of your pieces? Are these worked out in sketches ahead of time, or do you the shapes develop as you work with the material itself?

We start with an initial idea or sketch of bag and work towards it through a series of toile samples. It’s a very hands on process. Details and proportions do not always translate well if taken literally from a paper sketch and will always need to be refined by holding and using a bag during development.

What can we expect from the brand in the near (or not-so-near) future?

We will be adding new product groups to the collection. Travel goods and exciting collaborations with other design companies are coming up.

I hear that you are planning a blog launch soon! What type of content will you be featuring?

The blogs will feature regional news about the brand from Japan and North America. We are going to working with our local partners on this and hope to show our customers, wherever they live, more local information about the brand and our partner stores in different regions.

How do you assign names to the bags? Are they named after people you know?

It’s a combination of people we know or the inspiration of a person.

Do you have any secret/strange hobbies or interests that you want to share with us?

We also own and run 3 restaurants.

If you had to flee the country and could only take a bag with you, what bag would you take, and what are three things would you put in it?

We are fans of traveling light and are practical by nature so a wallet, toothbrush, passport carried in one of our lightweight Carter Trip Bags which we could then fill with all the things we’d buy once we escape.

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Thank you, Rich, for giving us a more in-depth peek into Property Of… Find all of our offerings from Property Of… in the store or on the web!