The Blog
Buy It for Life: What To Buy That Will Last Forever
We Want Something That Lasts Forever
Never have we lived in a time with as many options as we now enjoy. There are an innumerable number of choices we can make, products we can purchase on the internet, media we can consume. Competition has bred variety.
On the internet, you can find a hundred different versions of a washer and dryers, bowls, scissors, a blender, a swiss army knife, an umbrella, a camera, a vacuum cleaner, a grill, gloves. All of these items are available from a different manufacturer. You see ads on Facebook and Twitter and Reddit, and you’re immediately tempted to buy. It might seem random, but the point is, there’s a whole lotta junk out there that just doesn’t last.
In the same way, there is an incalculable number of purchases we can make. A new pair of boots, a backpack, a jacket, pots and pans, electronics, coolers, a stainless steel water bottle. So many products to buy, and so many promise lifetime warranties. But do they always deliver? No. And that leads us to buy replacement after replacement.
Options, Options, Options
The benefit of having too many options is, of course, that there are more quality products on the market, but that also means that it is more difficult to discern which products are good and which are not worth our money. Folks make recommendations, but it’s hard to take people’s word for it sometimes.
Simply put, we want something that will endure in the long run. We want higher-quality, but we don’t want to spend a lot of money (but we are willing to invest when needed). We don’t want a product that will fail us in the next few weeks or months, or collapse at the gentlest gust of wind. We don’t want something that will break before we have the chance to use it properly.
What do we want? We want something that will come with us, persevere, and resist the challenge of time and wear.
High-quality matters. And something crafted beautifully is worth recognition and respect. There’s a reason we stare at the colosseum, at the pyramids, at the great cathedrals of the past, at the steady work of human hands that has far outlasted those who were brave enough to give their bodies and minds to craft.
Quality Matters: The Line Up
We build —we invest in — that which we want to endure. We are made to be attracted to what endures, to the permanence of what we create.
All this to say, we began Andar by committing to this idea––that what is worthy is what lasts. We didn’t want to make something that you are forced to make repairs on next year, or the year after that, or the year after that. Something that won’t tear at the seams or let you down when you’re in a pinch. We’re talking about real longevity, which is both a luxury and a necessity.
We want to carry on the heritage of good craft, the legacy of durability and endurance. This is the good fight we’re fighting. In what follows, we collect a few of the “Buy It For Life Items” we believe are must-haves.
Built To Last: The Ambassador
First, take a look at our Ambassador wallet, made from our premium full-grain leather (the highest quality leather), which comes from the top layer of the hide. It’s cut from the same hide rather than a concoction of different types of leather sewn together to make “genuine” leather, a much lower quality of leather that isn’t made to last. We designed the Ambassador to have the quality of your dad’s wallet without anywhere near the ungodly amount of bulk.
The Ambassador carries 10+ cards, with six card slots and three easy-access slots. But we slimmed it down to be half the size of those bricks you’re used to seeing.
Your same cards, your same cash, but far less bulk. Moreover, the Ambassador wallet is fitted for RFID blocking to protect your personal information from being stolen, ensuring that you’re not only a man of equity and elegance but one of technological sophistication and protection.
Magnificent Minimalism: The Monarch
When designing The Monarch we wanted to create a card holder that reminds us of royal elegance, one that is reminiscent of the days when the royal class always had easy access to a velvet purse.
We made The Monarch from the same premium full-grain vintage leather as the Ambassador, and its rich patina is something to talk about. As the full-grain leather ages with constant use, the color and depth of the leather are beautifully evoked, giving your wallet a character that’s entirely unique to you and your story.
We included an elastic tab on The Monarch that provides easy and efficient access to your cards. As quick as you can think to grab your cards, you have access to them. Additionally, it’s our slimmest wallet yet.
At Andar, we are committed to minimalism. We believe that true quality is found in allowing something to create itself, that less is more only if you know what more is. We’ve seen more and believe that elegance is found in intentional minimalism and that something can be stripped away to its essentiality without it losing anything essential.
Your New Laptop Case: The Chase
Our next item which we’ve built with a lifetime guarantee is The Chase, our full-grain oil waxed leather laptop case. Many laptop cases are made from composite leathers, rendering them vulnerable to the weather and wear of everyday use.
Our Chase laptop case is nothing but the integration of style and quality. We want you to invest in a laptop case that will last through each of your laptops. On top of the premium full grain leather, we added soft microfiber lining for protection and designed our dual-leather color pallet to complement the leather’s rich natural patina.
Since we only use authentic natural leather, the color and texture of each case vary slightly, emphasizing your individuality and commitment to being who you are. The Chase is made for those who want to forge their own path and keep their laptop safe as they do.
Curated Especially For You: The Addison
For The Addison, we wanted to create a product especially for women. Too often, leather is associated with an exclusively male audience. But there is no reason for this. Quality leather is intended for anyone. With The Addison, we designed a bag that’s beautifully versatile, an accessory fit for every occasion.
Not quite as big as a duffel bag, there’s still plenty of room for all your daily essentials. And it’s perfect for hands-free traveling when you have a lot of luggage.
Like all our other products, we made The Addison from our premium grade full-grain oil waxed leather, giving it an extremely vibrant hue, whose robust patina is emphasized the more you carry her around.
We think the more pockets the better, so we added a front pocket, a bucket pocket, and a hidden pocket to store your phone or cash. Additionally, we lined the inside with a soft microfiber to keep your computer snug and cozy, while also making sure that everything you put inside sits comfortably.
Leather and Liberty: The Freeman
Similar to The Monarch, we crafted The Freeman to inhabit the space between the versatility of a cardholder and the storage of a bifold. It serves as an elegant bridge between efficiency and versatility, with its ID window slot, six card slots, and one spacious center pocket to store cash or more cards.
Oftentimes, “genuine” leather is a pieced-together, painted-over leather, made from discarded scraps that may not even be authentic cowhide. Andar’s intentionally sourced full-grain leather means that you’re investing in the highest quality leather available, which comes from the top layer of the hide, so the leather’s natural grain is included in the cut.
Carrying The Freeman every day means that full-grain leather’s natural patina will continue to evolve, becoming more complex and unique every time you put it in your pocket or pull it out to buy your coffee.
A True Everyday Carry: The Marshal
There are plenty of iPhone cases on the market, from Pollock’s paintings to denim material to Hello Kitty. But nothing is like The Marshal. From the beginning, Andar wanted to connect heritage with the future. Specifically, we wanted to include leather and technology.
We didn’t want to obsess over the former, and we didn’t want to focus too much on the latter and forget where we’ve come from and all the gifts the past has given us. That’s what craft is: incorporating the past to make a better future.
That’s where The Marshal comes in. We made a premium quality full-grain leather iPhone case, perfect to protect your item and exhibit your refined taste. The Marshal takes our minimalistic design approach and adds a subtle flare, with its two-toned phone case that ages with you, becoming something new every time you check your phone or text your friends.
Unlike some cases, we designed The Marshal to avoid any added bulk, so it slides into your pocket with ease and takes up barely any additional space. We used our premium full-grain oil waxed leather which is lined with a soft microfiber to increase its comfortability in your hand. And it fits almost every iPhone imaginable. We believe this case will become as essential as your iPhone.
Always With You: The Poppy
We wanted to create a wallet that is the perfect companion piece to The Stevie, our versatile zippered pouch, perfect for when you need to carry more than your wallet and less than a purse or bag.
To complement The Stevie, we designed The Poppy, a compact version of The Stevie that goes with you anywhere. From a trip to the store, to a northern lodge, to a tropical vacation, the Poppy goes anywhere you do.
The Poppy carries up to 10 cards and cash with the added stylistic choice of brass hardware, and a strong magnetic snap. It comes along with a detachable wrist strap that you can use as your everyday carry or sneak inside The Stevie.
Moreover, we included RFID protection with The Poppy to make sure that you’re safe from credit card skimming and another form of personal identity theft while you carry it around with you.
The design of The Poppy is meant to be timeless, meaning that we designed it to always be “in” stylistically. The Poppy is built to last for life, and emphasize your elegance for life.
Protecting and Enhancing Your Leather Gear: Andar Leather Cream
We didn’t want to leave you on your own to care for your new full-grain leather product, so we designed our Andar leather cream, made from all-natural ingredients including triple-filtered beeswax, blended seed oils, and naturally occurring lipids.
We apply it to all our wallets before they leave our warehouse to ensure they remain in prime condition. We worked hard to design a leather cream that restores and protects your leather.
What Makes These Items Built For Life?
Andar means “to carry” in Spanish. Each of our products is designed to be carried. We didn’t create Andar to have a gallery for leather pieces. We created our Andar products to be carried, used, abused, and make it out every day after.
We didn’t use “genuine” leather, which, by calling it that, is false. It’s genuine in only the bleakest and palest sense. We are faithful to crafting something with integrity and excellence, hence our choice to only use the highest grade full-grain leather for every product.
Leather is a historic material. We have evidence of its use before 8000BC and its quality is continually perfected, from the work done in the Stone Age, to refinement in Ancient Rome, through to the progress accomplished in Napa, California in the late 19th century.
Leather has made its way in every industry, from furniture to clothing, to military outerwear, to wallets. It is one of the few relics of ancient history, like metal, that will be used for ages to come.
Buying high quality products from Andar isn’t just a purchase, it’s an investment in the future that pays homage to the past.
Sources:
What is Full-Grain Leather? (with pictures) | Info Bloom
