The story of our brand starts with a journey through Latin America. As a travel writer at the time, Jake Bullough was living in Bolivia, writing about people's lives whom he encountered. In La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, he met the wonderful Julia, who along with her extended family have been making and selling leather bags from a tiny shop in the back streets of the city for many years. Intrigued by the combination of incredible craftsmanship and quality materials, they began collaborating, turning Jake's designs into a collection of never seen before handbags.With Bolivia being such an isolated country, Jake's idea was to provide Julia’s struggling business and subsequent others, with a substantial amount of work with which would bring in much needed finances and eventually improve their standards of living. The idea of encouraging employment has always been a huge motivational factor and we now provide full or part time employment to over forty people.Our ever expanding network of craftsmen are also motivated by the fact that their hard work, skill and tradition is being appreciated worldwide. To make our bags more unique we have been using vintage Andean cloths, known locally as ‘aguayos’. All antique aguayos are hand woven and defined by the region where they are made. The art of making these wonderful cloths has been passed down through generations, over hundreds of years and reflects the history of the indigenous cultures in Bolivia.