Review: @SatchelandPage Modular Leather Tech Portfolio - Daily Carry Mobile Office

Thank you to Satchel and Page for sending this truly gorgeous piece of work over for testing and review! I've spent quite some time getting to know it, toting it around, sniffing it, petting it, and generally being madly in love with it. The Modular Leather Tech Portfolios (aka Port Series) is on Kickstarter now! Check it out my peeps.

Satchel & Page hand crafts heirloom quality leather pieces, inspired by the founder's grandfather and his Map Case from WWII! Obviously, that map case holds a lot of history and is full of stories. Satchel & Page's designs are inspired by the designs of the 1940s, with added touches for today's technology.

Satchel & Page launched on Kickstarter back in 2013, and I have been following them ever since, as my very close friend ended up backing and became a huge fan when he got his bag. He then got another piece because he loved them so much, so I've been an avid follower for some time. And envying his bags and wishing they were mine.

ABOUT & FEATURES

Size: 13" 

Shoulder Strap: Yes

Carry Handle: Yes

Zippers: YKK
Thread: Waxed polyester 277 (UV and mildew resistant)

Leather: Italian, full grain vegetable-tanned

Vegan friendly: No

Your Mobile Office - We do our best thinking when things are clean and organized. The Port series comes in 4 sizes and combines a smart layout with a slim profile. No clutter = increased productivity. 

Refuel Your Devices - When we designed this collection of tech portfolios, we focused on your productivity. Smartly designed layout charges both your phone and tablet while you’re on the go. Never run out of battery again. 

Modular - Removable outside pocket for battery pack along with interior insert options for a truly customizable carry. 

Heirloom Quality - Italian, full-grain veg tan leather, Japanese YKK Excella zippers, solid copper rivets.

PRESENTATION

The Satchel & Page Portfolio was sent in a large black dust bag with a leather thong drawstring. The bag has the Satchel & Page logo printed on it. These are nice for storing your leather goods. I appreciate the clean yet useful and simple presentation. I really don't need or want a box or anything.

APPEARANCE

The Leather Tech Portfolio is a cross between leather work, a mobile office/daily carry set up, and a briefcase. It does all these things with sheer class and style. Even if you don't really need it, you're probably going to want it simply because it looks so darned awesome. I'm a sucker for this kind of thing.

My Portfolio is a larger size, ready to accommodate a 13" laptop and more. It has a padded carry handle, a padded and adjustable shoulder strap, two zippers around the whole thing, an add-on battery pocket that snaps on to the front and several loops and pockets of various sizes inside. I also have a magnetic Artist insert, as seen in the images. The inside spine has magnets under the leather to make it super easy and quick to attach or remove the insert.

The leather is absolutely gorgeous. It is a rich brown with yellow and red tones. The leather picks up scuffs and marks with use, and it pulls up in the areas that are softer. I think it is just beautiful: the entire package looks high quality, classy, and super elegant. The inner lining is a lighter tan, providing great contrast to the darker, richer leather. The stitching is dark brown to match the main color and the edges are darkly burnished as well.

The final product will be a little less red than the one you see in my pictures. Final zippers will be Japanese YKK Excella, instead of the stock YKK seen on my Portfolio.

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

The Portfolio feels good. The quality of the leather is apparent, it smells great, it looks great, everything is clean and well done. It just feels good in hand. The flaps are firm and not floppy and saggy, so the Port has always kept its shape whether it's empty or full. The shoulder strap is thick but not bulky, the clasps and rivets are smooth and placed properly (not half stuck in). The handle is smooth and rounded off so carrying the Port feels comfortable. I have used bags that had sharp edges on the carry handle, and it would dig into my palm, making it painful and uncomfortable to carry. The Port ensures that carrying by hand is not a pain. The zippers operate smoothly and even when it's open, the teeth of the zippers don't scratch me when I touch them.

I loaded up the Port with all the mobile office-y/daily carry things I could think I would need. What kind of things would go into my set up? House key, lip balm, earphones, mouse, a pocket notebook or two, phone charger, lightning cable, iPad charger and iPad (if I want to watch Netflix), laptop, relevant cards - debit, credit card, Starbucks gift card, etc. What do I do when I am in mobile office mode? I typically spend time with notebooks, inks, and pens that are in the review queue. I carry them around, test them out in all sorts of environments (i.e. if I uncap a pen right when I am about to take a few notes in a bookstore, does it write?). Yes, I actually do weird things like this. I try to spend time with all sorts of items in the most realistic and also the weirdest ways possible, to see what it's like to live with.

I actually don't like to carry my laptop around, so when I didn't have to, I had this loaded up with power for my phone, a bunch of pens, a whole bunch of notebooks that I use for various purposes, and letters. One thing I found particularly useful in motivating myself to write letters was to actually carry letters sent from friends/pen pals/during InCoWriMo, and some stationery. And stamps. And clearly I carried pens. The part I struggle with when replying to letters, or writing letters, is I never actually get myself to sit down and reply to them. By carrying them with me - and I'm not saying this is the only way to carry letters with you, it's just one of the ways that really worked for me - I was able to jot down replies on the go. I spend a lot of time in waiting rooms, so I made good use of my time instead of playing on my phone (not that that is a bad thing either). It was just an efficient use of my time, and it was productive. I enjoyed it. 

What if I had something larger to carry? I either would not carry it in the Port and would do so by hand or in another tote, or I would carry it in my purse. It depends on the item. This didn't happen often. The Port is a slim profile case with limited space because of that slim profile, so it's not the kind of bag you can just throw everything and a banana into. In fact, do not throw a banana in there because it will get squished and your Port will reek of banana forever.

Stephen agreed to have a few photos taken - thanks for modeling! He's much taller than I am, but clearly, I am not pictured here to compare. The 13" Portfolio works well in his hand. I will say I did not find the 13" Portfolio too large to comfortably carry myself. It is a comfortable size and did not get too heavy - it limits itself in what it can carry, so it does not get overloaded. I love that this is something I felt comfortable carrying. It's not just for men.

Without the shoulder strap. 

PROS

• Products backed by a lifetime warranty.
• Elegant, subtle branding.
• Leather is sourced from Tuscany, Italy, from a third generation, family-owned vegetable tannery in Ponte a Egola. The family is one of the founding members of The Genuine Italian Vegetable Tanned Leather Consortium, a group of Tuscan vegetable tanneries who follow strict quality standards and regulations. This means Satchel and Page's leather will be labeled with the official Quality Trademark certified by the Consortium.
• Excellent workmanship - no scrummy bits or edges. It's all very clean, well made, and robust.
• Leather pulls up and develops character so beautifully. I love it.
• The firm shape ensures your goods inside are protected.
• Zippers are high quality - they work smoothly and do not catch.
• Padded and adjustable shoulder strap.
• Great for business use.
• Great for personal use as well.
• Comfortable to carry in hand, or over the shoulder for longer carry. 
• If you have a slim battery pack and a regular sized phone, you can charge your phone using your power pack and the provided snaps (to house your cables in a tidy manner) while your Port is zipped closed. 
• The shoulder strap clasps are strong and can take a lot of weight. 
• A variety of loop sizes to accommodate different writing instruments.
• One thing I really like is that I often carry my items in pouches and cases to protect them when I shove them in a backpack. The Port Series allows me to carry my items (phone, laptop, iPad) naked, because they're protected by the leather sleeves and the security of the zipped up mobile office. This also means less weight overall, and it's more efficient. 
• Keep your cables sorted and detangled. No one likes tangled headphones. 
• Some loops can hold ink sample vials for you fountain pen users!

CONS

• The loops and slots can accommodate a variety of sizes but are best suited for slimmer items.
• Different sized pen loops mean you'll have to check and see which of your writing instruments fit.
• If you fill up the left flap and have a pen loop magnetic add on in the middle, as with my set up, the left side can hit your pens when the lid is closed.
• If you have really thick electronics - laptop, phone, power pack, etc - the slots may not hold your item. I have a giant power pack that was way too thick to fit in the designated power pack slot, but it did fit in other slots. It just required some selecting and rearranging. I also have a slimmer power pack that did fit. 
• The removable battery pack pocket on the outside is a great idea, but could be a little larger for larger adapters. I couldn't fit a non-Apple adapter in there. 
• The downside to the variety of loop sizes is it's hard to know what will fit - trial and error. 

Here's one of the downsides of stuffing the Portfolio with everything you've got: things can hit each other. This one has a hardcover A5 notebook, my laptop, iPad, iPhone, charging pack, two charging bricks, my laptop's charger, and miscellaneous pens, pocket notebooks, pens, etc. That was way too full. 

OVERALL

First of all, I think this is a beautiful, amazing item. I love having my daily carry/essentials organized, and to have it organized with such a lovely mobile office makes it all the more fun. The Modular Leather Tech Portfolio is really well made (and the final products will be even nicer than the review unit here). The zippers are smooth and don't catch, it has firm covers so you can actually use the surface to write on/put your laptop on, and the shoulder strap is soft and padded to handle the weight of a full unit.

I find having everything where I need it very comforting, and it means I don't have a bunch of things just stuffed in a pouch, stuffed in a bag. This forces me to keep things organized and clean - in a good way. It makes me more efficient because everything I need can be carried - a few pens, my phone, a power brick, a charger, my laptop, and a notebook. I can also carry a few miscellaneous items - cards, pocket notebook, my mouse.

The Portfolio has a lot going for it, but it could also use some work. I am an Apple user, so a lot of my stuff fit without issue - the adapter, the laptop, my phone, iPad, etc. If you have a larger phone (with a case), a larger power pack or adapter, or a thicker laptop, not everything will fit so easily. The key will be picking the right items for your mobile office, and ensuring you select the correct Port for your own needs. I would love to see an expansion zipper for those days you just stuff way too much stuff in, but that would also take away from the slim profile and clean look.

The fact is, I don't need this, but I really enjoy using it and carrying this when I leave the house to get some work done. It makes carrying all my things that I use for reviews and work much easier, more organized, and I get strange satisfaction out of having this all sorted. It's really a handy mobile office that allows me to also work on my lap, not just on a table. Great for commuting and working from spaces other than your own office. It's not perfect, but it's really, really nice and useful.

Want to know more? Check it out on Kickstarter! For many of the things I complained about, Satchel & Page have included those items in their Kickstarter - cables that fit perfectly and slim battery packs!




I received this item free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.

Review: Orée Artisans Stylograph @OreeArtisans

ARTISANS OF EMOTIONAL TECHNOLOGY
We craft lasting technology tools that inspire imagination, contemplation,
and renewed attention to the beauty and wonder of everyday life. 

ABOUT

Pure copper ballpoint pen & refillable notebook to capture your notes & sketches on paper. Instantly share, edit & sync them via your smartphone.

This review unit will be given away on Instagram, so head over there to find out more!

NOTEBOOK:
Refill: 190 pages
Size: A5
Format: two ring-binder
Paper weight: 120 g

PEN:
Material: Copper
Refill: Standard D1 ballpoint
Diameter: 12 mm
Weight: 52 gm

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

Before you use your Stylograph for the first time, recharge it for at least 30 minutes, using the USB cable provided, which you can plug into a computer or USB power adapter. Remember that the Stylograph has to be turned on in order to record your notes.

Download the Stylograph application on your mobile phone from here.

PACKAGING

The Orée Stylograph is packaged in a firm, clean cardboard box. The top has the following printed in white:

Orée Stylograph
Façonnier de beaux utils connectés / Artisans of emotional technology
oreeartisans.com.

The back describes the Orée in French and English. The lid lifts off and the box inside is quite snug with items. There is a small card that says:

Important
Please take a few moments to see the basics of how your Oree product works on the following page.
oreeartisans.com/welcome

Presumably, that card was referring to the large white paper that gives some details about the pen and notebook, including proper grip position, launching the app for a guided set up, pen charging via USB plug, and ballpoint refill replacement. It also lets you know where to download the app. oreeartisans.com/stylograph-app

The Stylograph notebook is nestled in a cardboard cut out, with a little slot for you to slip a finger in and remove it. Underneath the notebook, there is a cardboard slot that holds a grey braided USB cable. The packaging is very simple but it’s clean and tidy, matching the notebook and pen.

APPEARANCE

The leather journal is very simple. It has two leather covers with rounded corners, and 150 white-grey stone pages inside. The leather looks like a natural vegetable tanned color, which darkens with use, but it will be some time before this starts to happen, depending on how and where you use your notebook. After months of use, my leather still looks quite new. The front says Stylograph (burned in?) and there is a round eyelet type thing for the elastic that holds the journal closed. The back cover says “by Oree”. 

The back cover also has several punched holes with black cord running through it, and personally, this kind of kills the beauty of it for me. The black is such a stark contrast to the warm colors of the leather and the copper pen. The pen is held in these elastics on a padded strip of leather, and it looks nice, but I feel like a different color and type of elastic should have been used. This elastic looks and feels like what my Goody hair elastics look and feel like, which takes away from the elegance of it all. 

The large copper pen has a rounded off triangular shape, with a small wooden nodule sticking out of the back, which houses the charging slot. There is a tiny light in the pen that indicates whether the pen is on or not, and it blinks when you register the pen. I like the light, but I imagine it will burn out eventually? I suspect it’s an LED, which should last some time. There is a button on the other side that doesn’t even really look like a button - it’s flush in the barrel so it’s a little tough to press. The cap is flat and blunt, and it is cut at an angle. Inside, the refill is sort of hooded, and the scanner is beneath it. It has a brushed finish to the copper, and upon arrival, it’s quite shiny and bright. So far, it has not developed much of a patina, so I delayed this review just to give it some more time.

The paper is lined with a microprint, and blank on the back sides. The edges are slightly rounded, and there are two holes in the side. 

PERFORMANCE

Although I understand the pen has a specific design to match the emotional technology concept, and to house the actual working components inside, it’s not necessarily my favourite shape of pen for writing with. This combined with the fact that it’s a ballpoint, which tends to butcher my handwriting anyway, makes for a writing utensil that works well but I cannot use to product attractive handwriting. I keep trying. 

There is a certain position to grip the pen in that produces ideal handwriting results, but I don’t find it that easy to write that way. Something to consider if you are picky about how you hold your pen. 

I have only used the included pen on this paper. It has a special micro print on it that allows your words to be scanned and transcribed as you write them. Obviously other pens will not work because they don’t have the working device in them. The paper smells like stone paper and it is very smooth to the touch, fairly water resistant, and tear resistant. Although it’s so tough, it’s also quite soft in that using the ballpoint pen on this prints through the page, leaving behind traces of your writing. If you write things you want to keep private, you may want to use one page at a time, or put something firm behind the page you’re writing on, to absorb the press through. 

HOW WELL DOES THIS WORK: APP, CONCEPT, ETC.

The ultimate question, I suppose! Is this something you could use, something you need, or something you would benefit from? I think it depends on what your habits are like and what you would actually want this item for. This is certainly a duo that can offer a long lifetime (with battery replacement, and paper and ink refill changes), but you have refillable items. The app is straightforward but it does mean you have to have a smartphone (iOS/Android) as well.

The notebook is on the bulky side, but it's also full of paper. I tried removing about half the sheets and it became a lot more portable and easy to use. The extra papers must be stored carefully because they are quite soft and floppy, but it works to take out half or so. I like how that feels better than a full notebook.

This system can be quite handy if you like to or need to log all the work you do. It digitizes handwriting and sketches quite well, although there is little room for customization. I was informed by the company that the translation is being worked on right now, but once it's up, translation to many languages will be an option. I'm not sure how successful that can be, and it's too bad they don't already have that up and running. I suspect that would not be something I would really use. Maybe ideal if you're a writer? Instant back up?

I love the classy set up and all-in-one system - you don't have to digitize your work, but it then becomes a pretty expensive system of just pen and paper. It does work well - the readings are clean and clear, and I experienced only one "error" - a line that I did not actually draw. 

PROS

• Each piece is artisanally crafted one at a time in southern France.
• Finest natural materials are used.
• Each leather sheet is handpicked.
• Ancient techniques used by generations of talented craftsmen.
• Tools will last a long time and the notebook will develop a patina with use.
• Website available in English, French, and German.
• Standard D1 pen refills.
• Translation coming soon!
• Charges by a regular micro USB cable and not something proprietary.
• Pen fits easily into the slot - it doesn’t feel like it’s going to break off (apple pencil.)
• Battery status of the pen is indicated when you connect via the app.
• Several options to save.

CONS

• If you don’t have an Android or iOS, there is no app for you yet. 
• Proprietary refill paper.
• Button on the pen is fairly small - it can be tough to press it easily. I have to use the corner of a fingernail. 
• If you dislike the smell of metals/copper/brass-y smell being on your hands, you won’t like the pen. It definitely smells.
• The elastic to hold the pen/keep the notebook shut looks like my hair elastics. The color and feel doesn’t fit the elegance of the package. 
• Only available with lined/blank pages in the same order. 

OVERALL

Before I had started to use this to test it out, I thought, what on earth? $300? That’s madness. And then I used it. And it worked so well that I was pretty impressed and thought “ok. Maybe it’s not so bad after all”. This is really cool, and if you need a system that archives your notes immediately, or if you like to send doodles on the go, this is an excellent tool for you. There's no reason you cannot use your pen of choice on the paper of your choice, take a picture of it, and send that picture wherever you want it. This is just a refined, rather elegant way to enjoy a tech x analog set up. Very specific, very organized.

Personally, I like to throw a small leather cover with a pocket notebook in my bag, and a few ballpoints for on the go. I don't really use items like this because I have too much "normal" paper and pens. 

CONNECT WITH ME: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest | Google

---

I received this item at no charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. This item will be given away on Instagram.