Reimagining a Favourite - Whisky A4 Portfolio

Full Grain Leather Hawk A4 Portfolio / Compendium

When I first started making A4 leather compendiums 10 years ago, I made a portfolio in a similar colourway to the my new Hawk Leather Portfolio. Customers loved it, and so did the husbands, wives, son's, daughters, friends and business colleagues they gifted the compendium to. 

The soft, full grain leather, whisky outside cover with black inside lining made an handsome combination. The whisky tannery finished leather didn't require hand dyeing, which saved some making time and cost, but the softness of the whisky leather wasn't really suitable for hand stitching.  So in 2015, I discontinued the tannery finished cover and started making my more time consuming, and therefore expensive, hand dyed, hand stitched, and personalised russet leather A4 portfolios using the same high quality black calf leather inside lining. 

I'd had repeated requests from customers for a ready to send leather portfolio for those late notice gift giving occasions. So, two years ago, I collaborated with my Australian leatherworker colleagues who make my portfolio inside linings to come up with a solution.

These lapsed Kiwi's, now rural Aussies, have the skills and machinery to make the intricate, machine sewn leather linings. Since 1989, they have been supplying some of the most admired leather artisans in Texas and other US states, as well as my Sparrowhawk Leather in New Zealand.

After a lot of research to find a beautiful leather, with the quality we needed, and developing the Hawk Leather maker's stamps, my Australian leatherworker colleagues were ready to produce the first few first Sparrowhawk Leather NZ ready made Hawk Leather Products. These next day shipping products included the Hawk A4 Portfolio. The expertly tanned, full grain Whisky leather front cover together with their quality full grain Black calf leather portfolio lining recreated the popular colourway of my early portfolio.  The time tested, functional inner lining layout provided for an A4 Writing Pad (Top bound), with 2 Business Card pockets (1 display), 2 penholders, and 2 full sized A4 pockets including one that should accommodate an iPAD/ Tablet (up to 27 cms wide).

It's no surprise that my customers were delighted with this beautiful product. I'd read that worldwide the most popular colour for luxury leather Portfolios / Compendiums is the lighter, richer browns (Cognac, Tan, Chestnut) similar to our Premium full grain Whisky leather. This colour combination is hard to find, for a reason. With lighter leather colours, you can't use the inferior leather common in mass produced leathergoods, as the quality is obvious.

Carrying on my Sparrowhawk Leather NZ's commitment to using only the best full grain leather, I've ensured the distinctive whisky leather used in Hawk A4 Portfolio's exudes the patina and character of each individual hide while being soft and supple to touch. Its the same for the interior, with the finer, full grain black calf leather interior having the same unique hide character.

I respect and value my colleague's decades of practice and skill used to craft my Hawk A4 Leather Portfolio for my Sparrowhawk Leather NZ business to such a high quality. As well as the beautifully fitted and top stitched rich whisky leather exterior, the black calf leather interior is robustly constructed with an excellent attention to detail including a resilient stiffening board lining and neat, professional stitching. They handmake the brown leather portfolio in small batches of  7 - 10 only when the Brown leather is available. For my Sparrowhawk Leather customers, this means their Hawk portfolio has it own unique outside appearance and they are one of the few to own one. 

For the colleague, professional, graduate or entrepreneur using their Whisky Tan leather Hawk A4 Compendium, its superior quality is unmistakable. From the smell and feel of the leather, to the spacious, versatile layout and professional appearance, Sparrowhawk Leather NZ's document folder is an impressive leather accessory. Combining elegance with classic functionality to accommodate an iPad or Tablet, an A4 Writing pad, and meeting documents, or all three, the Hawk Portfolio Compendium the ideal business companion for the modern entrepreneur, business owner or executive professional. 

Fiona Ritchie
Sparrowhawk Leather