→ The Encounter Collection
The history & more
The Inspiration
This collection was inspired by an old leather camera case that was passed down to Stephen from his grandfather. That case had traveled the world with him, and the leather had aged beautifully. When Stephen held that camera case, he could imagine the adventures his grandfather had had while traveling throughout South America. He felt connected to his grandfather, and a part of their family story of travel and exploration.
** Insert Photo of Kenn Opperman camera case here **
Stephen was inspired to make a collection of travel bags that could be carried through one’s life, picking up the stains and scars of a well-traveled life, and that would be able to tell a visual story of where it had been taken. The vision was that these bags would be passed down from generation to generation, needing only occasional repair or reinforcement, getting only better with age.
We created The Encounter Collection film to speak to this idea of legacy and heritage, and the beauty and value of objects that tell the story of our lives. Created together with Process the film was a Vimeo Staff pick.
The Encounter Collection video
The Design
This collection celebrates the beautiful simplicity of vegetable tanned leather and the highest quality closures. The zippers are made by RiRi, a Swiss manufacturer that has been making the highest quality zippers since they began manufacturing them in 1936. Take a look at all our bags.
The bags are intentionally made without lining, so as to remove the one element of most bags that wears out first. The should straps are made with cotton webbing and leather, as a subtle nod to the belts in our Inheritance Collection.
When the collection was first designed in 2012 it was released in a warm cognac colored leather. In 2014 we added a rich, black leather option to the collection.
Manufacturing
This collection is manufactured in León, Mexico by our partners at Old Mexico Manufacturing. The veg tan leather is tanned in León, and the cotton webbing is milled here in Los Angeles. The RiRi zippers are made in Switzerland.
Many years before starting Stephen Kenn Studio, Stephen had been a bag maker. A few years after opening the studio and diving deep into the craft of furniture design, he felt drawn to making bags again. As with all his designs, it started with a great material - vegetable tanned leather. Unlike pure chrome-tanned leather, veg tan leather has the ability to age well over time. If cared for properly, it will only look better and better as the years go on. The leather will soften in texture, and the color will darken, creating a beautiful patina that is unique to each bag.
Questions about the collection? You can email us here.