"Rugged Luxury" by Packsaddle Leather

There’s nothing quite as luxurious and evocative as the fragrant oils behind the aroma of new leather. So much so that some car makers now commercially produce ‘Eau d Leather’ to play on the olfactory senses of prospective buyers. No other product has been able to match the leather smell and the expensive feel of, say, a new Rolls Royce.

And no other product is able to match that same evocative smell and luxury feel of the impressive range of leather bags and accessories from Byron Bay’s Rugged Luxury, a leather company that epitomises the descriptive terms ‘Australian’ and ‘Handmade’.

As a youngster raised among horses and cattle on the farm on the Lachlan River at Forbes in the Central West of NSW, Rugged Luxury’s part-owner/manager Jock Craigie was imbued with an appreciation of the fine qualities of leather saddles, accessories and workwear.

And since joining his father and Rugged Luxury founder Steve and brother Ben in the family business a decade or so ago, Jock has seen Rugged Luxury itself emerge as a major brand in Australia’s leathergoods markets, as a major supplier of leather bags and accessories to several iconic Australian bush outfitters, luxury resorts, travel companies and tourist outlets.

Rugged Luxury on Tour - Steve Craigie’s ongoing Outback travels in his Land Cruiser pulling a gooseneck trailer/ mobile showroom on the bush show circuit - gives the company the advantage of an unrivalled market connection and resultant product that reflects both practicality and contemporary design suitable both for everyday use and the boardroom.

Rugged Luxury’s Byron Bay factory is a tightknit operation, with Jock and his handfull of lieutenants utilising the same handcrafting skills of the country’s pioneering leather craftsmen as they cut, edge, glue, rivet, construct and stitch the best quality chrometanned Australian cowhide into the impressive range of leathergoods.

Says Jock Craigie: “Leather is undoubtedly one of those natural products that is part of the essence of Australia. It was essential to the rugged endeavours leading to the settlement of the interior, because of its resistance to abrasion and wind. And its’ aesthetic qualities - flexibility and stretchability among them - make leather an aesthetic and useful accessory for travel and work, something that will last a lifetime.