On a quest to deliver considered quality, luxury accessories direct to consumers without the hefty price tag, Sleeve London is a British design studio tapping into the luxury consumer of tomorrow .
Here, Co-founder Gerald Gigi tells their story.
“When we started the studio we had one goal – to create beautiful, functional products that did not compromise on our ethics.
In fact we put sustainability at the core of everything we do.
What started as a discussion ‘on the lack of truly sustainable yet affordable bags’ between four friends across a table at The Bluebird Chelsea resulted in 2 years of meticulous R&D and prototyping and finally a product we can be proud of”
Their goal: to provide luxury leather carry cases crafted in eco-friendly Italian leathers without breaking the bank.
It is a proposition that was well received in their first sold out limited drop in 2018 and they now are back with a launch of their full range of premium tech-forward accessories on Kickstarter on the 28th of September 2019.
The SLEEVE® Brief and Clutch are voice-activated, trackable laptop cases, handcrafted using full grain eco-friendly Italian leathers, and the first laptop cases to feature Chipolo™ tracking technology as standard.
Technology features of The SLEEVE® at launch include:
- Voice activated bluetooth tracking (compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant)
- Optional tracking powered by Chipolo™ GPS technology
- Wireless charging for mobile phones via a power bank
- Crowd global tracking powered by Chipolo™ Community
- RFID skimming protection,
- Proximity alerts
- Two-way tracking features which will prevent you from ever losing your SLEEVE or laptop again.
Design features of the SLEEVE® include:
- The Brief model had retractable handles that transform your SLEEVE® into a briefcase
- The Clutch has an Easy grip loop for a secure and comfortable handling
- Detachable straps that make the SLEEVE® a handy shoulder, cross body and messenger bag and a special edition edition that allows for a backpack mode.
“We’d seen a lot of innovation in phone cases and likewise for backpacks – but little had been done to really bridge the ‘luxury-technology-cost’ gap for laptop cases and folios.
Our interconnected digital world means many of us are no longer tied to a traditional office. This freedom of movement has meant most laptop cases are no longer truly fit for purpose.
With luxury brands on one hand making well crafted but overpriced products that are not hard wearing nor ready for our mobile and tech devices and on the other hand the high street options offer little in terms of quality or function.
So a group of us proud nomads set about to develop a hybrid product that could offer more… and we simply called it “SLEEVE®” said Victoria Burns, Co-founder Nakul Malhotra.
“We demanded a lot of the SLEEVE®… it had to cope with the English weather (aka rain and lot’s of it), the tribulations of using the modern tube (packed carriages, data theft and the left luggage scenario), we wanted a product that would be ethically made with sustainability at it’s heart and finally it had to come at a fair price (have you seen the rental costs in London?).
So we teamed up with an experienced manufacturer who has been making bags for some the biggest luxury brands out there and together, sourcing the best eco-friendly Italian leathers and craftsmen whilst ensuring we upheld our commitment to an truly ethical and sustainable product such as guaranteeing that o chrome or earth harming chemicals were used in our production processes.
In the end we created a laptop case that was crafted with the same high quality leather materials and attention to detail as the luxury designer brands”
“and because we eliminated the retail & distribution costs and sell directly to you what you get in the SLEEVE® is the same high quality leather materials and attention to detail as luxury designer brands but at a fraction of the price. said Victoria Burns, Co-founder, SLEEVE® London
Beautiful aesthetics without compromising on our ethics.
“Our philosophy is based on the principle that every handmade product we create is engineered for performance and utility, clean lines and multi-functional design. So we designed features that embraced and reflected the needs of daily life such as our use of weather proof eco-friendly Italian leathers through to our retractable handles for our briefcases that convert it into a compact folio you can easily fit into your backpack.”
“We designed SLEEVE® for everyone. It doesn’t matter if they’re not technology savvy , The SLEEVE® tech features come as optional and are easy to sync to your phone. So anyone can be up and going in a matter of minutes,” said Nakul Malhotra, Co-founder, SLEEVE® London.
“Our consumers, most of whom will have invested in a high cost tech device, will expect more from their laptop cases and with SLEEVE® we’re providing a solution that has greater function and real additional security.
The SLEEVE® will be available exclusively via Kickstarter fro the 28th of September 2019.
For more information go to
www.sleeve-london.com
IG @sleeve_london
https://www.instagram.com/sleeve_london/
