Tusting is a British leathergoods maker known for its luxury

handbag A handbag, commonly known as a purse or pocketbook in North American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag used to carry personal items. Purse, handbag or pouch The term "purse" originally referred to a small bag for holding coins. In man ...

s and luggage. The firm was founded in 1875 and operates from a factory in the village of

Lavendon Lavendon is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the northernmost village in the Milton Keynes UA and South East England,near Olney, about WNW of Bedford and N ...

, Buckinghamshire.

History

Tusting began as a tannery and leather importer, founded in 1875 by Charles Pettit in

Harrold, Bedfordshire Harrold is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Borough of Bedford within Bedfordshire, England, around nine miles north-west of Bedford. The village is on the north bank of the River Great Ouse, close to the county boundaries of ...

, a village known for its leather industry. The company would later move to Lavendon, a neighbouring village, where it remains today. The company continues to be operated by the Tusting family. Co-owners William and Alistair Tusting are the company's fifth generation, the great-great-grandchildren of Pettit.

Products and Sales

The Tusting factory employs 38 workers, mostly from surrounding villages. They use traditional leatherworking methods to create the company's products. These include travel luggage, briefcases, satchels, handbags, computer and phone cases and other accessories. All Tusting bags are entirely designed and manufactured in the Lavendon factory. According to fashion blog Merchant and Makers, Tusting bags exhibit "classic styles that are timeless". About 40% of Tusting sales are made to Japanese customers, as of 2014. The brand is also popular in China, where it has a store located in

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

. Tusting launched a

pop-up store Pop-up retail, also known as pop-up store (pop-up shop in the UK, Australia and Ireland) or flash retailing, is a trend of opening short-term sales spaces that last for days to weeks before closing down, often to catch onto a fad or scheduled e ...

in London's

Jermyn Street Jermyn Street is a one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing retailers. Hist ...

in December 2014, and is actively considering further stores in China, London and elsewhere. Tusting is or has been stocked by stores including

Fortnum and Mason Fortnum & Mason (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an upmarket department store in Piccadilly, London, with additional stores at The Royal Exchange, St Pancras railway station, Heathrow Airport in London and K11 Musea In H ...

, Budd and Pickett in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Hankyu , trading as , is a Japanese private railway company that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of the flagship properties of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Grou ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. It has also collaborated with other British brands including Aston Martin and

Church's Church's is a high-end footwear manufacturer that was founded in 1873, by Thomas Church, in Northampton, England. In 1999 the company came under the control of Italian luxury fashion house Prada in a US$170 million deal. History Between the ...

The Princess of Wales

Tusting garnered media attention when Catherine Middleton, later Princess of Wales, was photographed with a Tusting Explorer holdall in 2007. According to the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', '' Doctor Who'' actor

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC series '' Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targaryen in the HBO series '' House of the Dr ...

is also a fan of Tusting.

References

{{reflist Companies of England Leather manufacturers