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Handcrafted leather wallets, the essential leather accessory

Handcrafted leather products have always been part of our history. Indeed, leatherworking is an art in itself.

At Monpiel, the craftsmanship of our expert leather artisans reflects the brand's love for quality workmanship, attention to detail, and high quality as a priority. We create pieces optimised for our discerning customers, featuring original designs that result in a unique product. We take pride in all our handcrafted products. Our handcrafted leather wallets are our best-sellers, along with our artisanal leather bags, belts, and other leather accessories made with care.

The handcrafted leather coin purses, for example—a large circle of soft leather with holes around its edge and a leather strap threaded through these holes—were widely used from Roman times (and possibly earlier) up to the Middle Ages for carrying coins. These artisanal leather wallets with drawstrings were securely attached to a belt around the waist, and countless representations of this can be found in many carvings and paintings. Merchants and wealthy men of the period typically used these handcrafted bags.

All these personal items would have been made by saddlers, as the trade of the leatherworker (leather artisan) didn't yet exist as such. This is quite understandable since personal items were few and did not offer enough opportunity for anyone to earn a living this way. Handcrafted leather products as a commercial opportunity did not begin to evolve until people started to travel. Indeed, people have always moved—armies marched, tribes migrated—but people did not travel regularly. During early and late medieval times, most people lived their entire lives in their own village, and visiting the nearest town would have been considered an event.

When people were compelled to travel, it was usually to relocate, and they did so in carts carrying all their belongings. The first of the two branches of leatherworking developed in major maritime cities when people started travelling abroad to populate new developing colonies such as America, Canada, and much later, Australia. Cabinet makers in these large ports around the coast of England began producing 'trunk suitcases,' ranging from simple trunks styled like large suitcases to more sophisticated and larger trunks designed to carry hanging clothes.

An entire emerging industry dedicated to the production of trunks and wardrobes transitioned from furniture-making to exclusively producing these “mobile wardrobes” to meet demand. However, this solution for travellers was heavy and impractical. The trunks were constructed from wood using methods similar to furniture-making, with edges and corners reinforced by metal strips. They were heavy and had handles at each end, as they required two people to carry them. There are few records related to this part of history, but we can trace this development through the terminology used by cabinetmakers.

To find the true origins of leather goods as we know them today, we must look back to around the 17th century, when wealthy merchants and their families began travelling between cities. In addition to maritime and canal transport, horses were the most common means of travel. As people began to travel more freely and swiftly than before, they needed to carry a change of clothes along with other belongings. Initially, wooden boxes similar in design to those used on ships were adopted, but these were smaller and square-shaped so they could be securely fastened to the roof of a carriage.

However, these boxes proved not to be durable, as unlike their counterparts used on ships, they had to be unloaded at every nightly stop. At some point, an entrepreneur tackled this issue by creating a leather case with rigid sides and additional locks. This turned out to be lighter and far more durable than wooden boxes, due to its flexibility. These lid-covered cases remained popular until the advent of airlines, which required lighter luggage. This, combined with the Industrial Revolution, led to a surge in leather goods to meet new demands—business bags and folders, writing cases, leather wallets, leather bags, and more.

As well as cases necessary to protect new gadgets like binoculars, telescopes, cameras, and so on. Leather goods production was already a thriving industry. Nowadays, many of these items are made from plastic, as leather remains a more expensive and exclusive material. However, as has been the case throughout history, many consumers still prefer leather for their wallets, bags, and other accessories due to its greater durability and superior quality.

At Monpiel, we work with dedication and passion to bring our customers handcrafted leather products that are not only of the highest quality and carefully designed but also available at unbeatable prices.

Have you discovered our line of Slim handcrafted leather wallets? Explore them here and choose your favourite colour.

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