One of the privlages I had on my recent return home was spending time with ‘Trakke’. Unfortantely Angus had departed by this point and therefore the photos were left to myself and the iphone.

Trakke- is the brainchild of Alec Farmer, the premise being to produce high quality handmade messenger bags right here in Glasgow. I knew myself and Alec would get on as soon as we met – his production philosophy is spot on. These bags are in many ways counter culture; timeless yet classic, simple but well thought out, they don’t have a lifespan other than that inflicted by the owner. Trakke as the brand name is itself derived from the idea of people finding their own path as well as hinting toward a Scandanavian design aesthetic. Alec has turned to a professional sail-maker to assist him in the production who has enhanced the craftsmanship of the operation and in turn the bags through experience with directional stitching and reinforcement adding to the level of detail you can expect. This has afforded Alec more time to invest in product design. The studio space reflects the out of the box thinking Alec is applying, with parachutes draped around and various prototypes in testing. You can see this has filtered through into the current range with buckles and bag furnishings employed from unusual sources such as maritime and military. The waxed cotton that is the main material used is bought in rolls that aside from standard black will be used until then end of the roll and another color brought in, so if your digging the mustard yellow like I was get on it! The waxed cotton builds up a patina of use and is one of these materials that looks wrong brand new. I know Alec has some interesting Harris tweed colabs in the works as well as an extended range beyond the backpack and Messenger bag. Check out the website here, or if your local shoot him an email and go see Alec and indulge in the process of being able to see your bag being manufactured by some pretty awesome humans.

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