Interesting Briefcase and Leather Goods Store

[jdldore]

While in Milwaukee for business, a quick trip to the Allen Edmonds store in Port Washington, and a short detour to Summer Fest, I happened upon a leather store in the Third Ward called Mitchell Leather. The store, owned by a Romanian immigrant with an engineering degree, offers handmade leather goods, including briefcases, attaches, purses, and wallets. When I say handmade, I mean that they are handmade on the premises.

The owner, Jerry Mitchell, was an extremely nice gentleman and he gave me an impromptu guided tour of his factory, which lasted over an hour. He spent additional time discussing the art of leather working and, finally, explained the purpose behind all of the patents he has on his bags and briefcases to balance weight distribution. (I have to admit that I didn't quite follow the final portion of the tour, not being an engineer.)

At any rate, the experience was really interesting, so I thought I would share. I walked out with a chestnut colored money-clip/wallet (cost about $40.00). I bought a Schlesinger attache about a year ago, so I passed on the briefcase (cost circa $800.00 with buckle straps and $450.00 for one with a locking mechanism -- his words, approximately: "these are stupid...too much weight is on the locking mechanism, so they do not last long enough...I always tell customers these are not good deals....")

I couldn't find his theoretical website on the internet (though it could just be me), www.mitchelloutlet.com, but I did find the following link, which I think gives a pretty good background: http://www.treasuresof.com/View.aspx?treasureId=5607.

 

[gefinzi]

Very interesting, thanks for the post. It would be nice if his website actually worked and one could see his products.

 

[jdldore]

Yes, sorry for the incomplete post.

I'll take a picture of the wallet, at least, when I get back to my camera at home and will post it up thereafter.