“Craftsmanship, innovation and excellence are our core values”

Around the world, the beauty and cultural wisdom of age-old craftsmanship is slowly disappearing. Highly skilled craftsmen and women have become an endangered species as more young people choose other career options. This, and the increase of industrialized production have brought many traditional, craft-based businesses to their knees. Those that remain are often small, family-run enterprises, without the financial resources to attract and develop new talent and without the skills to create sustainable business models. While the world is moving toward fast fashion, SwanDoe focuses on supporting artisans worldwide in an effort to uphold an age-old craft, bringing forth our founder’s training under an Hermès master artisan. Craftsmanship, innovation and excellence are our core values; we are based on tradition and heritage. 

Today we take you behind the scenes, into our San Francisco atelier where your products come to life; you'll glimpse into the process and method behind how your bags are made. Bordering Golden Gate Park to the south, with the Presidio to the north, our studio is located in the Inner Richmond; an under-the-radar neighborhood surrounded by green space. We are steps away from the laid-back locale with simple, delicious, diverse shops and dining options along Clement Street. Filled with natural light, it's where we spend our days snipping and stitching away, always with a cup of caffeine at our elbows. Never completely sure if we're working or playing, it's where we lose track of time, completely in our own world, mesmerized by the music and the art we create. If you've ever wondered who makes your bag in the San Francisco atelier, it's these two troublemakers right here (^.~)

Meet Mark + Xuan, the creative minds behind the upcoming MARX collection. You may have seen a few postings of these intricate inlay bags a few months back! Each color is a separate piece of leather, carefully cut by hand then strategically set together to create patterns for your exclusive MARX bags. 

Why the name MARX? It's simply a word play on Mark + Xuan's name. Together, these two are brewing an American Made collection, with the vision of building their own micro factory here in the Bay one day. 

The process in making these bags is labor intensive and requires attention to details. Once our designs are perfected, we create paper patterns. Then we start with inspecting the leather, choosing only the best sections for each piece. Once cut to size, we assemble, stitch, patiently sand the edges to create an even line before we can treat the edges with bee's wax, edge paint and process it through a heat treatment; sealing the edges and protecting it from water damage. Depending on the size and project design, our bags can take more than 40 hours to complete.

Interested in touring our studio? Let us know and Subscribe to our Newsletter for exclusive offers and special invitations to visit us in San Francisco!