ABOUT US

John Chapman makes hand crafted canvas, leather and tweed bags for travel, leisure, business and sporting activities. We make all our bags in Our Tannery Road factory, pictured below, part of an old industrial site dating back over 300 years. We like to use high quality natural materials of British origin wherever possible. If you would like to see more information about our materials and manufacturing process, including a video of how we make the bags, please click here.

The Company was founded in the early 1980’s by a local businessman, John Chapman, who still lives close to our Carlisle workshops. From nothing, he created a thriving business selling British made bags all over the world. Although John is retired now, and sold the business some years ago, we are still in touch with John and his wife Jo, a formidable team whose story is one of remarkable entrepreneurial and marketing success. If you would like to read more about the history of the Company, please click here .

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 canvas, leather and tweed bags. Our Rydal Collection of women’s bags is named after the home of William Wordsworth, the Lake District poet.

All our employees are local people. While some have been with the Company for much of their working lives, we are also committed to taking on and training young people, an investment essential to maintaining the technical and craft skills required to manufacture in England.

We welcome visitors to our workshops. We have a factory shop selling a wide range of bags and ex samples. Shop hours are 0930 to 1700 Monday to Thursday and 0930 to 1530 on Friday. Please call us if you wish to visit outside those hours, which we may be able to accommodate. We also cater for factory tours by individuals and groups of no more than 15-20. Please call us on 01228 514514 to request a tour.

We sell on a wholesale basis to shops all over the world. We have dedicated sales support and a showroom in London and also participate in overseas trade shows at selected locations during the year.

The Company manufactures for other designers and brands and we offer a full design, sampling, sourcing and production service.

Please contact us at trade@chapmanbags.com or call us on 01228 514514 to discuss your requirements.

We love to hear from our customers. We run an active Facebook page, which is one way of keeping in touch. Or you can send us any comments, pictures, stories or suggestions by email to enquiries@chapmanbags.com. Please follow this link if you would like to read some customer reviews and sees further details about staying in touch.

The head office of John Chapman Limited is:

Gallery House
Tannery Road
Harraby Green Business Park
Carlisle CA1 2SS
United Kingdom

Telephone (0)1228 514514

The registered office of John Chapman Limited is:

c/o Nexus Solicitor
Carlton House
16-18 Albert Square
Manchaster
M2 5PE

The company registration number of John Chapman.
Limited is 5721166.

CREDITS

We would like to thank Lucy Alice Edwards for her photographic and production work on our last shoot around Ullswater. The unique location used by her on the shore of the Lake can be hired through her on request. She is available for freelance photographic work and is contactable at lucyaedwards@live.co.uk. You can also view her website at www.lucyalicedwards.com