About Us
John Chapman
makes hand crafted bags for travel, leisure, business and sporting
activities. Our customers appreciate the contemporary approach we
bring to classic English style and quality.
The company has been established
for many years in Cumbria, England. The natural beauty of the
surrounding Lake District and Borders has provided much of the
inspiration for our bags.
We are one of the last remaining
companies to make our bags exclusively in the UK in our own
workshops. We also insist on only using materials of the highest
quality, wherever possible from natural sources. Why do we do
this?
- We want to ensure the highest possible
product quality; around 80% of the direct manufacturing cost of our
bags is accounted for by the materials which go into making
the bag
- We believe our customers like to
know that their bag was made by craftsmen and women
without using harmful chemicals and in a responsible
environment
- We do not make throw away products. Customers
sometimes send us their bags after many years' hard use for us to
renew or repair because they have formed a personal bond with that
bag. We can do this for them because we make
the bags ourselves, instead of sourcing them from
overseas
You can read more about how we make our bags, and
the materials we use, below.
You can also see a Virtual Tour Video
showing our workshops, people and manufacturing processes by
following this link: Chapman Virtual Tour
We also love to hear stories about your Chapman
bags. Click here to see further details.
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Hand crafted bags
Our bags are manufactured at our Carlisle
workshops. Like a hand tailored suit, the material for each bag is
hand cut on the premises and constructed using traditional methods.
This heritage underlies our reputation for quality and
durability.
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The Chapman signature
Every bag is individually checked throughout the
manufacturing process. You will find a personally signed inspection
ticket attached to your bag confirming it has met our rigorous
standards.
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Bespoke bag service
If you cannot find the bag you want in our range,
we offer a bespoke bag service, through which a bag can be built to
your personal specification. We also cater for corporate and
trade clients. Please call us to discuss your requirements or email
bespoke@chapmanbags.com
or, in the case of corporate or trade enquiries, trade@chapmanbags.com.
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Chapman bags are
made almost exclusively from natural materials. We work with mainly
UK suppliers from whom we source fabrics and fittings of proven
quality.
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Pure cotton
luxury
We spare no expense in producing a multi-layered
cotton canvas of the highest quality and purity. The unique bonding
process used in its manufacture results in a soft, luxurious,
strong and waterproof material. Many of our colours are uniquely
dyed to our own specification and can only be found on a Chapman
bag.
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Natural bonding
process
Our fabrics are made by bonding two layers
of pure cotton drill with a natural rubber core. Unlike many
other manufacturers, we do not use Polyurethane (PU) in this
bonding process. Although cheaper, research has shown that PU
bonding produces carcinogenic traces and, in any event, the
material becomes brittle over time.
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Solid brass hardware
Our fittings are cast from solid brass, sometimes
with a nickel plating (to achieve a white metal finish), neither of
which pit or rust.
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Best leather fittings
Our leather fittings are cut from selected hides,
which are vegetable tanned in one of our three standard
leather colours of Papaya, Old Australian Nut or Dark Havana. One
of these leather colours is specified to match each colour
variant of a bag.
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Specially crafted
tools
The leather fittings for our bags are
unique to John Chapman and are cut from tools specially
crafted for the purpose.
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Cotton webbing
Our webbing is 100% cotton and is of military
grade quality. The original weave was designed to prevent parachute
webbing breaking if damaged. The size and colour of the webbing is
carefully specified to match each bag.
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Reliable fastenings
We use a range of reliable fastenings, including
our trademark clog ball or "Sam Browne" fastening, a small brass
dome. This may seem a little stiff at first but will soon soften to
a quick and easy motion.
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Double stitched zips
We use the strongest brass zips obtainable, which
are double stitched to the bag. We occasionally use nylon zips to
avoid scratching, for instance on gun covers or tight
pockets.
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Fleece padding
We use natural wool for padding. Where a design
requires a supporting brace, we work with wood and lightweight
aluminium, not plastic.
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Credits
We would like to thank the following
people, all of whom have worked with the company recently on its
new website and other promotional media:
Photography: Theresa Mikuria, James Walker,
Mark Mather
Styling, Make-Up: Maja Molteno, Tanya
Chianale
Design: Sarah Kellaghan, Kevin McGurk, Tim
Ellis
Modelling: Alexa, Billy, Charlie
Props: Robert Eldridge, Nigel
Bennett
Fly Fishing Rods and Tackle: Godfrey
Spickernel
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