Hand Crafted

Trends can come and go, but a true, rugged gentleman's wardrobe is here to stay. While remaining constant, a man's closet ought to reflect his intrepid spirit and classic taste. He might incorporate modern styles, but he is certainly not getting a whole new wardrobe every fashion season. So, to get him on the right track, we've taken our top 6 essentials for the rugged gentleman:

In most instances, a briefcase and an attache case are interchangeable. However, when directly compared, they each have unique histories and distinct features. Use your knowledge of their histories, uses, and features, to show off your fashion cred and ensure you end up with a bag you love.

Traveling carry-on only is both liberating and enlightening. No waiting for your luggage praying to the turnstile that your bag isn't lost, no lugging around unwieldy heavy objects through city streets, and lots of jealous looks as you breeze right out the door and straight into your next adventure. Sure, you might think you'll need tons of luggage for a trip... but you don't. How many times have you stuffed your entire wardrobe into your suitcase only to wear your handful of favorite items? Hectic travel mornings are a lot easier when you don't have to sift through dozens of shirts intermingled with socks, tangled with tech, and travel detritus. Embrace simplicity and find out how to streamline your packing into one carryon bag!

When we found out we could get our hands on a select stock of vintage leather from Europe, we didn’t just buy a little bit of it, we bought it all. Hailing from the 1950s with a beautiful patina color we created a leather Apple Watch cuff that will mold to your wrist and age with you and your watch. The Limited Edition 60 Year Luxury Leather Lowry Cuff for Apple Watch Series 1 & Series 2 comes from the time of Elvis, The Civil Rights Movement, and the Lindy and stands out as a cuff meant to last for years to come.

1. Dawn, what can you tell us about yourself?

I like long walks on the beach, a good book, and to lay by the fire. Haha…no not really. What can I say? I guess I am your average American. I love a good cheeseburger, a glass of wine, and to snuggle up to a good movie on the couch with my hubby.

We don’t have any kids of our own but I have two beautiful step daughters and a cat named Leo who is extremely vocal. He yells at me often for the things he “thinks” he needs. I love the Lord and am really active at my church in the worship ministry there. My faith is really important to me and plays a huge role in every aspect of my life.

When we came up with the idea around the Traveler case for iPhone 5/5S we were inspired by my late father who carried a coin purse with him his entire life.  You can read more about that story here from this past March.

Check out our video as well  Story of the Traveler Case.

We love bumper case function and the more minimal approach they provide for an iPhone. What we hate is tons of plastic and injection molding.  That's everywhere.  We really wanted the Traveler case to wrap leather around an iPhone like a cool evening jacket. Like that trusty coat, the cover needed to also be practical.

After dozens of prototypes we arrived at a case that we think fits these passions. Gorgeous full grain leather, stitching and very intricately handmade by our brothers and sisters in Leon.  We can even attest to

One of my early job requirements for Pad & Quill was to become familiar with Pinterest and like many of my technology adaptations, I began with a shudder, gave it a noble effort then abandoned it when I couldn’t recall my sign in information.  Then a friend of mine announced her engagement and suddenly Pinterest was the only proper means of communication with the female side of the bridal party.  So, I hunted down my sign in information and began once again perusing the form of social media that most certainly is the insurance asset should Martha Stewart find herself incarcerated again.  Thanks to Pinterest, I am now convinced that baking soda and vinegar are the solution to every domestic dilemma from dust mites to indigestion.

Speaking of indigestion, Pinterest had me arranging my refrigerator in alphabetical order, with the helpful “m” admonition that any item rendered nondescript due to a colony of mold growth be discarded. 

We’ve had some moody menfolk in the Pad and Quill household of late, and what a span of moods it is.  I’m beginning to agree with the fifteen year old who contends that men do indeed have a monthly cycle.  Mr. PQ is simply thrilled to have booked reservations at both of Tyler Florence’s restaurants in the San Francisco area at the end of this month.  Mr. PQ’s man crush on Tyler is so pervasive I’m beginning to wonder if I should worry.  Forty years of learning have taught me to wield a paring knife reasonably well but Brian is never going to see this any time soon.

At the other end of the spectrum sits the thirteen year old who had the audacity to get sulky on our recent holiday to the beaches of Florida.  Notwithstanding the fact that we had escaped a week of sub zero, snowy days, he also had 6 days

We get lots of questions about the differences in our new leather bags.  I thought it was time to discuss the design and features represented in our three carry bags.

Messenger Bag

When we set out to craft these bags one of our biggest litmus tests was the question:  Does this tie together old and new ideas? The messenger bag concept is a classic designed larger bag meant to sling over the back for the daily commute. This design holds lots of stuff and has pockets to keep everything in order.  We took that idea then added luxurious and organic materials to make something new, yet familiar.  We love the two large pockets for holding your cords, chargers, battery back ups or hard drives.  Along with a large laptop pocket designed to hold up to a 15 inch Macbook Pro retina. Finished off with a large leather flap that has a real cherry wood laser etched Pad &

In the last several years, Kindles and e-readers in general have seemed to take off. But how viable an alternative is it to paper books? We'll take a look here, comparing Kindles against paper books in a number of categories.