How it all Began...
From an inspirational trip to a North-West Indian market in 1998, to the creation of our first leather satchel in 2006, the realisation and conception of Scaramanga (born from Carl's dining table!) has proven so important in establishing us as a renowned lifestyle brand, now 15 years strong! Carl was inspired by the traditional techniques utilised by artisanal craftsmen in their ability to expertly recreate the quintessential British satchel, in addition to their furniture restoration techniques and practices. The Scaramanga brand was launched with our original leather satchel, leather notebooks and small wooden boxes, prior to receiving our first container of vintage furniture in 2008. One year later we expanded our leather range even further with our travel bags and in 2015 we announced the launch of our incredibly popular embossing service. We now boast over 50 styles and sizes of high quality leather bags and very recently, in August 2021, we celebrated the arrival of our largest ever shipping container; 40ft of new products! These milestones have each been a source of indescribable excitement for team Scaramanga, but we couldn't have done it alone... Scaramanga has continued to grow and expand during our 15 years as a lifestyle brand and this simply wouldn't have been possible without our wonderful suppliers in India. When you make a purchase with us, you are not only supporting ethical production, eco-friendly and sustainable practices, but also the individuals and families who are committed to creating and restoring our pieces.
The Story Behind our Leather Bags & Accessories
Our leather bags and accessories have been a staple of Scaramanga style from day one! We use unique Hunter leather for its large yield, incredible quality and hard-wearing properties. The tanning process used, a semi-vegetable tanned method, allows us to utilise more natural substances such as tannins, dyes and oils. This reduces the need for harmful chemicals that damage the environment and could negatively impact the leather as it ages. Our leather tanning and finishing techniques bring out the natural attributes of the leather, allowing our bags and accessories to age beautifully! Expect some variation in texture and colour in our bags, as different areas of hide can often be included in one bag. This creates depth in the piece and gives each bag a unique look - they truly are one of a kind! We are incredibly proud to work exclusively with small scale and family run enterprises, and this (of course!) includes our highly skilled bag makers in India who craft for a firm that has been in the leather industry for over 75 years. The business has been managed by three generations of the same family, who are considered pioneers of antique and vegetable tanned leathers in eastern India. They even made leather products for the British and Indian armies during World War II.Did you know? We've dispatched well over 50,000 leather bags and satchels since 2006! That's a lot of bags for 15 years!
The History of our Furniture & Interiors
Our vintage furniture pieces are sourced directly from India and are restored by the Ram family, who have been breathing new life into reclaimed and antique furniture for seven generations. Every item of furniture we stock is handpicked by Carl, who also oversees the careful restoration of the pieces. At Scaramanga, we appreciate well made furniture and interiors. Our pieces aren't made to look vintage, they are vintage. True vintage pieces are built-to-last, with many decades of life left in them post-restoration. Our furniture is so full of personality and history; we are proud of every piece that makes the journey from its origins in India to our warehouse in Scotland!
But we aren't the only ones to have noticed the incredible quality and character of our pieces... We celebrated our first movie feature in 2010 when our antique trunks made it into Dark Shadows, and our television debut made it to screen in 2016 when our padlocks and chests appeared in Celebrity Big Brother and the relaunched Crystal Maze. To date, our pieces have made appearances in twelve feature films! We are also proud to provide interiors for a growing number of wholesale customers.
