The Frederic St James Story

Frederic St James - FOUNDED 2022 - tail end of the Global Pandemic.

Let us introduce ourselves... the founders - Gavin and Max.

We are two colleagues and then friends who worked in Ecom for a retail giant, as two cogs in a merry go round. We were desperate to join forces, talents and create something of our own that we could push our passion and expertise into.

For months we researched and scoured the market and both came to the same idea. For a further 6 months we searched the world for talented leatherworkers, artisans and designers, had endless calls and meetings, received copious  samples, until we were confident we had all of the ingredients to produce absolute top quality, hand crafted leather bags - and Frederic St James was born. 

We were adamant to start Frederic St James strictly bootstrap, with mortgages and young families to think of. After a series of all nighters and our life savings ploughed into advertising and set up - we quickly found our feet and our bags started to soar in popularity. Proof that some people really do look for quality and fine workmanship over common big brand names. Only months in, we were able to leave our day jobs behind and focus on growth.

Our initial designs were highly influenced by our favourite 'the classic school satchel' a prototype that has been around a hundred years - we now also see these fashioned by university students and commuters - an absolute archetypal wardrobe staple. Shortly after diversifying into leather suit bags, tote bags, man bags, camera bags, belts, wallets and the list goes on. 

At Frederic St James, we absolutely love what we do and pour our hearts into it. We are proud that every product is unique, from the cut of the leather to the fine details and finishing oils used. Another passion we share is to provide outstanding customer service; so rest assured if you have any queries or special requests, you will be dealing with one of us or our trusted team (a helpful person and not a robot or call centre).

Our aim is to design and produce bags that will last a life time and won't come and go with the trends of the season - just beautiful, quality, timeless pieces.