Jackson Wayne makes a messenger bag for time travelers to the Old West

Well howdy, partner! How’s your Django app deployment going? Jackson Wayne makes leather goods with a decidedly old-timey, pre-WWII/post-Pony Express bent. Founded by a former lawyer, Andrew Lynch, the style is based on “old pictures of lawyers and their briefcases” that Lynch found while running is law practice.

Lynch’s inspiration came from a leathery past.

“I found a really old bag on eBay, ordered it and was surprised when I got it. It was over 75 years old, but looked maybe 10 years old. It was solid, detailed, but not over-styled and had certainly stood the test of time. So that’s what I set out to do,” he said.

Lynch spent his childhood on his grandfather’s midwestern cattle ranch where he learned about leather goods. After a decade of lawyerin’ he quit to create his dream company. He makes all of his pieces in the US and they range from briefcases for a country esquire to wallets for cow-pokin’ cafe habitués.

The company is self-funded.

“The biggest differentiator is this: you cannot find a super premium leather bag that is truly Made in the USA at this price point,” he said. “Our bags would normally sell for 2-3 times what we sell them for. And that is not an exaggeration.” His competitors like Whipping Post and Saddleback, two sites we featured here, do offer similar products at similar prices and, obviously, design and aesthetics are major consideration. Whipping Post, for example, offers starker lines and cleaner designs for some of their newer bags while Jackson Wayne’s looks are based on old army bags and briefcases.

As someone who really doesn’t really like nylon and mesh laptop bags – you couldn’t get me into a Tumi it if came loaded with gold although I do like the Nomadic line for size and utility – bags like this one are a fun and sane way to carry your laptop and other goods. Because it’s real leather it ages gracefully and I’ve had a few leather bags of this type that have lasted for a decade or more. While you probably don’t want to pack your six shooter, some grub, and a wineskin in these bags a MacBook, mouse, and bottle of Kombucha will fit quite nicely. The bag pictured above, the Messenger, costs $375 online. Yee haw!