In this Fashion Story, I am reviewing the "Writer's Medic Bag" by Galen Leather Co, a Turkish company specialising in handmade fine leather goods.
I was contacted about 2 months' ago by a Turkish Leather Goods brand called "Galen Leather Co" asking if I wanted to review their products. They have so many gorgeous pieces and I do have quite a bag collection, so I decided to choose a very different type of bag to review. So here is my choice that I am reviewing today: "The Galen Leather Writers Medic Bag".
Let me start this review with some background on "Galen Leather Co":
"Galen Leather Co. is a family company, based in Istanbul-Turkey. The Galen Leather Company’s line of handcrafted, thoughtfully designed handmade leather goods has taken the stationery world by storm over the past few years. Stationery, pen-paper fans across the globe, can’t get enough of the rich leather pen cases and notebook covers, as well as the astonishing wooden Writing Box.
Each Galen Leather Co. product is rooted in a pragmatic design and intentional construction that results in something that is both useful and beautiful.
SHE LEFT, A LEGACY.
Sadly, the founder of our brand Zeynep passed away in July 2019. Her brother (Yusuf) and husband, Yunus, are lovingly carrying on her legacy and devotion to beautiful, quality handmade products."
There is more and it is such a touching story, I had to include extracts of it:
"As a small business based in Turkey but shipping worldwide, a lot of people are curious to know the backstory of how Galen Leather came to be. When I introduce myself as a business owner, I'm often asked the question, "Why did you decide to do that?"
Even people who purchase our products want to know more about where the idea came from and why we decided to create our own product line in this way.
So I've decided to create this space on our website to share my story. It's a deeply personal one that required me to change my way of life, my way of looking at the world around me and even the way I was able to provide for my family. I really believe it's an amazing story and I hope others will be inspired by what you can accomplish when you really set your mind to a vision.
In September of 2012, I was diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, a rare type of head and neck cancer. The doctor told me that I would be fine once treatment was completed but I would be incapable of speaking for approximately one year. The proclamation was alarming. I was still young. I had a four-year-old little boy. How could I be going through such a horrible chain of events?fikret zeynep prensEven still, I knew I had to do whatever it took and so I pushed myself through the treatments. It was a painful four months of surgery and radiotherapy. The problems, however, had only just begun. As the Doctor had warned, I couldn't speak and was restricted to only drinking liquids. Without the ability to speak, I was no longer able to speak with customers and make sales. My career was over. This forced me to look for a new job model that would allow me to work without speech.
Yusuf and I decided to start producing our own leather goods. We started taking classes to learn leather crafting, learning from some of the best leather crafters in the area, as well as YouTube videos. It took several tries to create exactly what my husband had been looking for but we finally managed it, much to his satisfaction. Naturally, I was pretty ecstatic too! I was so proud of myself for what we had accomplished that I continued creating more and more things. Yusuf and I were able to create tech accessories and other specialty products. Everything was laser cut and stitched by hand. The business took off.
Today, I am healthy and have been able to return to my normal life. I can speak again and my husband, our four-year-old son, Cagan, and I are able to survive on the revenue from this company. Each day I am grateful for this life and I've never stopped experimenting and looking for ways to create new leather products that our customers will be interested in.
We continue to provide high quality and beautiful products to our customers. With all the products being handmade, they are unique amongst themselves, meaning that each product is a creative work of art that our customers can show off to their family and friends. Our beautiful products are our pride and joy and it warms our hearts to know that when we create something new, you, in turn, will come to love them as well.
I want to give a personal thank you to my husband Yunus, my son Cagan and my family and friends who are supporting us on this new adventure. And a neverending big thank you to the customers who support small business & handmade products."
Galen Leather Co sells a huge variety of handmade leather goods, from tote bags to notebooks to toiletries bags to... oh the list is huge! You can see the full range by clicking here: https://www.galenleather.com/collections/all
My thoughts on the Galen Leather Co Writers Medic Bag
I chose the Galen Leather Co Writers Medic Bag because of its vintage look. It reminded me of WWI medic bags and true enough this was the inspiration for the bag.
It currently retails for USD219. Shipping was quite fast. It arrived within week by FEDEX. They do say that for certain products, there is a lead time of 3-4 weeks as they hand-make everything.
Galen Leather Co describes the Writers Medic Bag as follows:
"In honour of our founder Zeynep's last design, we've finally brought her dream to life. As a lover of all things vintage, she was inspired by the design of a traditional medic messenger bag and adapted it to incorporate the Galen Leather product range.
The Writer's Medic Bag will light up any writer's imagination. With compartments for leather notebooks, leather journals, fancy pens and accessories, you can easily take all your writing essentials with you wherever your work takes you. This is the perfect writer's gift or gift for fellow lovers and collectors of our Galen Leather handmade leather goods. Now you can keep all your favourite items together and take them on your next adventure! The gorgeous distressed forest green colour is a long time favourite from our leather collection so it was no wonder we had to include it in the Writer's Medic Bag."
i love bags with lots of pockets and compartments. I also love leather in green. So I chose the "Crazy Horse Forest Green" colour for my medic bag. The leather was quite firm in the beginning but it soon softens up very quickly. The leather is distressed and with use, it does get marked by scratches. I like that abut the Writers Medic Bag, I think it gives my bag character and personality.
The Exterior dimensions are:
11.4” x 7.87” x 3.14” | 2 lbs - 29 x 20 x 8 cm | 0.9 Kg
The interior dimensions of the main pocket
16 x 27 x 3.5 cm - 11.4” x 6.3” x 1.5”
It fits an A5 notebook easily - an A4 size is too big.
I knew I wasn't going to use it as a "writers" bag. I wanted a bag with lots of compartments which I could fill with makeup products. What was also very attractive were the loops where you would normally fit in pens, pencils and other writing equipment. I thought, "How perfect for my makeup brushes, eyeliners and lip products!". I was turning this into a "Makeup Artists Medic Bag"!
Love the rustic look of this bag! As I've used it more and more, the leather starts to soften up.
I adore the many compartments and pockets that it has. And the elastic straps are so handy.
A compartment/section for everything. I could fit my IPad (7th generation) in it too.
The Galen Leather Co Writers Medic Bag came with two straps. You have the option of looping the straps through all three sections at the back to turn it into a backpack or just doing up the two buckles for a cross body strap. There are lots of adjustments holes in the straps so you should have no problem adjusting the straps to suit you.
Overall, I really like the rough look of this bag. I find it very charming that it looks like a medic's bag. All of the compartments and internal pockets/straps make it very handy. This would be the perfect bag to take on the plane too.
I love that the leather is distressed and how it has softened up and collected scratches. It adds to the charm of this bag. Now I want it in the other colours! They also have a bigger size that I think would fit a laptop.
I've added some screenshots of this bag from Galen Leather Co's website below.
There is also one in natural leather (i.e. not dyed).
An extremely practical bag in a cool style. If you like vintage looking bags, this one is for you! I think it would also work well as a University student's bag as well.
I hope you enjoyed this Fashion Story! I'm planning to do more. Please do subscribe to my blog (see various (they are irritating and I am sorry about that) pop up boxes or sign up in the box below). Drop me an email (tashi@paintbytashijadebell.com) or DM me on my Instagram (@paint_bytashijadebell) and let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for me. I always love hearing from you.
Yours Truly with Lots of Love, Tashi Jade Bell.
Disclaimer: All of the photos here with my watermark are taken by me. You cannot use them without obtaining my written permission first. These are my personal views and I do not any way guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any message and will not be held responsible for the content of any message. This bag was gifted to me by Galen Leather Co in return for this review.
