Who we are
Alder is an independent British brand that makes bags and accessories. We pride ourselves in offering versatility, comfort and beauty in every product that we make.
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We create handbags and laptop bags for intelligent people who's busy work-from-anywhere lifestyle means that their bag must look as at-home in the office as it does at a cafe or airport lounge.
Our collection of products are reliable and hard-wearing yet tactile and beautiful.
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The best of British heritage with timeless style
We are uncompromising when it comes to quality and our traditional lifetime guarantee on the craftsmanship of our leather products is testament to this.
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Our leather products are handmade in Somerset, England by highly skilled artisans that have been working with leather for 5 generations. We source as many materials as possible from small local businesses.
Our products quietly exude quality and are made to improve with age.
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Meet our founder
Meet Sarah McGill, our founder and designer.
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Sarah was born in Wales, she has travelled extensively and now lives in Berkshire, England with her husband and three children.
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In her early twenties Sarah lived in the Middle East and travelled the world with her job as an air stewardess. She then worked for large corporations for 12 years where she continued her global travels. It was during this time that she realised the lack of choice with regard to laptop bags that, well, didn't look like laptop bags.
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"I'd find myself choosing daily between a rucksack that was practical but that didn't fit in with my personal style and a tote that was smart but uncomfortable and not secure. I couldn't find one bag that would protect my tech and look good wherever I was. It was like I was looking for the holy grail!"
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Sarah found that she wasn't alone in her search for a laptop bag without compromises. After some extensive research, Alder was born in 2019.
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Every Alder product has been designed by Sarah and her experience, her attention to detail and inspirations are reflected in every piece.
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"Now, more than ever, we should expect more from the bag that we carry our tech and everyday lives in. We need a bag that looks as at-home in a board room as it does in a coffee shop.A bag that is as comfortable and functional as it is beautiful."
Sarah McGill, Founder of Alder
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Buy once, buy well
Producing timeless, carefully crafted products with limited runs ensures that there is very little waste in our production. Offcuts are used to make smaller offerings such as wallets and keyrings.
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We use card, paper and cotton in place of plastics and our packaging can be recycled.
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Each of our products can be used again and again and we provide a lifetime guarantee on the craftsmanship to be certain of this.
The 'buy once buy well' sentiment is important to us and runs though everything we do.
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