American Leathermen

Laptop sleeve, $195

Born in Tennessee and raised in Minnesota, Chris and Kirk Bray apprenticed under a third generation leather maker and began by making watchbands, using only the finest domestic and Italian leathers while hand treating the hides with natural oils and beeswax. The brand is now known for utilizing the talents of the Amish. The Pennsylvania people hand make many of the belts, wallets, satchels and bags which are then finished off in-house.

Disciple wallet, $95

Texas-based craftsman Barrett Alley has an old-school sensibility and appreciation for doing things "the old fashioned way." He works slowly, using materials like bark-dyed deerskin, waxed linen thread from Ireland and Civil War-era bone buttons. He searched high and low to find a local blacksmith who could forge iron buckles and sand-cast brass for his belts. His low profile wallets fit neatly into slim jeans and like all of his products, they come with a lifetime guarantee.

Jason Gregory's sturdy collection of hand sewn leather goods were influenced by relics found in his grandfather's basement. A pilot who traversed the globe, his granddad's old camera cases and bags inspired Gregory to leave his 9-to-5 job for the world of leather. In 2005, the Orlando-based designer started with a few made-to-order pieces, but demand grew and he launched a full line of goods including a range of wallets, belts and, of course, camera bags.

A one-man operation out of Cape Cod, Eric Heins cuts and sews every piece by hand in his Massachusetts workshop. Metal trimmings are engineered in-house and produced in California and Georgia. Durability is paramount—everything is constructed with a traditional saddle stitch and strong waxed thread. According to Heins, he utilizes a lot of natural vegetable-tanned leather because "I want it to show its age and tell its own story."

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