Chapter 1 - To Inherit The Earth

On a cold and typically drizzly British morning in London’s St. James’s, a car pulled up outside The Piccadilly Arcade, and a destined new client stepped out to pay a visit to Swaine at Burlington Arcade. As the bell sounded with the shop door opening, the equally assuring and confident greeting of the Shop Clerk set the Gentleman at ease. He introduced himself and began to tell his story.

The Gentleman had just inherited his Father’s estate, which included the immaculately kept family car fitted with a bespoke Swaine Adeney luggage set dating back some 45 years or so. Upon presenting the set, the Gentleman admitted knowing very little about leather goods but made clear his intentions, to learn all that he could, moving forward, to be prepared to pass on the set to his children and honour his late Father. He spoke of his excitement as a child upon seeing the cases by the car, for it meant the family were going on holiday!

The Clerk informed the Gentleman that his Father was a long-standing client of Swaine Adeney Brigg, as too was his Grandfather before him. As the imparting of history and knowledge happily ensued, the Clerk instructed the Gentleman regarding the particulars. Leather requires regular feeding and should be free of dirt and dust and kept stress-free whenever possible. Should lasting scrapes or scuffs appear on the leather, as with any wound incurred by man, some are the enduring signs of life and should be marked thus, though some may require attention.

The set was in remarkable condition considering it’s well-lived thus far, and the Clerk proposed a full clean and inspection for any drying or cracking to the aged patina. After hand-shaking, the Gentleman became a client and friend of the company. Soon after the return of the set, Swaine Adeney Brigg produced a smaller than standard Cambridge holdall in the same colour, complete with a hand-finished emblem to match his late Father’s luggage set, and so began the next chapter.