Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Searching for Briefcases...

As I move closer to graduation, I am looking to obtain a business essentials kit. I already have many things I've place on the list. There are two things missing though and that brings me to the search for a briefcase. Why do i need one, two reasons:
  1. My messenger bag is not professional enough
  2. My messenger bag is nearly unusable due to wear
Looking around, I've come up with a few requirements for my new case:
  • Genuine Leather
  • Hard wearing
  • Professional Appearance
  • Brown in color
  • Compartment for my Mac Book Pro 15" with no pockets, zippers, or anything that could damage it
  • Pockets for HP12c, pen rolls, Stapler, and other student supplies
  • Somewhat expandable or with at minimum 2 compartments: 1 for the laptop the other for files, folders, folios, and notebooks.
  • *Bonus Must be made in small quantities preferably by a small company with the passionate owner who is easily accessible.
There are several options available until we consider price. I realize that on the market, currently, there really are no options for well built cases until you break the $100 mark. 100 is the lower bound, now, we must consider the upper bound. $300 is the most I'm willing to spend; even this I consider too much. In the off chance that I work hard, save, sell off a few pens, break the piggy bank, and roll up and cash my change bowl; I just might be able to get to that price point. I probably will end up spending more. I plan on waiting until my final finals to purchase this case this will give me plenty of time to save.

My search ended when I found the custom hide company's 1945 reproduction army briefcase. They version of the case has 3 compartments, a zippered section, some pockets, a shoulder strap, and can even be monogrammed. All for the $324. It is $9 over budget. The monogram pushes it way passed the upper bound and that is fine with me!

To truly make it mine, I will probably add a newspaper pocket in the rear and an O monogrammed in the front. I will need to enquire about this to discover the cost of this addition. Should the customization cost too much I'll skip it and just read my Wall Street Journal online like every other 20-something-year-old.

Check out the photos!





That's right it is the briefcase from, Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)! I can see the Staff Sergeant carrying intelligence reports to the admiral in one of these!

Photo Credit: Pulled from the Custom Hide Company's website at www.customhide.com.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

These briefcases are really very cool, thank you for the share, i recently got one briefcase it's really very cool!

The Eccentric Orange Gentleman said...

Thanks Christi. I love it and I really enjoy it when people recognize it.