Dear Readers,
A few weeks ago I announced that I was starting a shoe and leather goods brand, Jay Butler. Proudly, I can now say that ‘starting’ has changed to ‘started.’ That said, late Monday night I launched the leather goods collection. The collection consists of wallets, money clips and other small leather accessories. Over time the collection will grow to include duffel bags, lap top bags, dopp kits and other small leather items.
When I was designing Jay Butler’s first leather goods collection I wanted to keep things simple and classic (big surprise there, right?). Functional and practical while still aesthetically pleasing. My intention was for the eye to be drawn to the colors, textures and patterns of the leathers. To the concise lines and pleasing proportions. Not to branded patterns or exorbitant price tags.
The collection ranges in price from $45 to $295 and the items are made from calf leather, ostrich, crocodile and sting ray. Admittedly, $295 is a sizable sum to pay for a wallet. However, in comparison to similar items Jay Butler’s collection is priced extremely well; helped in large part by the brand’s online direct to consumer sales model. For example, many luxury brands sell their simple calf leather wallets at $295, those made of crocodile cost many times that. For those not interested in exotic leathers, Jay Butler’s calf wallets are priced between $60 and $75. All of Jay Butler’s leather goods are produced at a quality level that is on par with some of the most respected brands in the world. These goods will last you years, if not longer.
But you may ask, and reasonably so, why is a simple wallet made of crocodile so expensive? There are a few reasons for this. First, crocodile (and other exotic skins like ostrich and sting ray) cost many times more than calf and cow leather costs. Second, working with crocodile takes greater skill and more time to work with than regular leathers. The leather must be selected and cut by hand (see photo below). The craftsman must know how to work with the intricacies of the leathers in order to produce the best looking product; it is part art and part science. It is not so simple as just cutting leather out and stitching it together. To do it right takes experience, skill, time and thought. Third, the exportation, importation and logistics of exotic skins is far more time consuming and difficult to manage that it is with non exotic skins like calf and cow leather. Permits must be obtained from both the importing and exporting countries and documentation speaking to the legal origin of the skins must also be obtained; among other things. At Jay Butler, only legally obtained and C.I.T.E.S. certified exotic skins are used.
I urge you all to browse the full collection exclusively at Jay Butler.com. If you are interested in following Jay Butler, please sign up for the email newsletter. Or you can follow the Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds. For those of you more interested in the shoes than the leather goods, I expect to have those available for pre-sale in the first week of November.
To commemorate the launch of Jay Butler and the leather goods collection I am offering a 10% discount to readers of The Fine Young Gentleman. The code ‘fygreader’ can be applied at checkout and will be valid until next Friday, October 24th.
If you have any questions about the brand or its products please send me an email at Help@JayButler.com or Justin@TheFineYoungGentleman.com. Thank you all for your support and readership.
–JLJ
Disclosure: Jay Butler is a brand owned and designed by the founder and writer of this blog, Justin L Jeffers.
All the best to your endeavour to please the needs of your fellows and your employees!