If you possess even a passing interest in fashion, you can probably tell what kind of bag a woman is carrying with a quick glance (admittedly, this is more likely to apply to women that carry purses every day). Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Coach, Chanel, Prada — each company, in the bag business for decades, has its own distinctive style that is almost instantly recognizable.
Leoht is hoping to join this esteemed club bag and there’s every chance the company will succeed, though not just because of the way the bag looks. Sure this classic, structured tote is beautiful and the leather no doubt smells amazing, but this is not the first beautiful leather tote that we’ve seen. No, like so many things in this crazy world, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
Along with your lip balm, keys, cash and about eight months of receipts, owners of the Leoht will be toting around a 6,000mAh battery capable of charging their phone four times throughout the day. What’s more, the bag features two USB ports, so you can charge your phone and your tablet, or your phone and a friend’s phone, without having to swap devices and cables.
There’s also interior lighting to reduce the amount of time you spend digging around in the dark depths of your bag looking for your keys, a hidden compartment for valuables called the Alcove, and an external LED indicator that shows just how much juice is left in your bag. The whole thing charges via wireless charging and every purchase of the bag comes with a Leoht branded charging plate that you can set the bag down on when you get home or to the office. It’ll take 5-6 hours to charge the bag to full capacity (keep in mind that it’s not good to let your battery run down to zero too often).
The company’s founder, Carnise McIntosh, is working with two silent partners and team of five others to get this first bag out the door. The team includes former employees of Apple, AT&T, Coach, Motorola, Quirky, and PwC, so the team is heavily focused on tech with a bit of fashion thrown in (though Carnise says they’re concentrating on both fashion and tech equally). McIntosh says that the company is has both designers and engineers on board and they’re committed to marrying technology and fashion in a meaningful way. That means further functionality down the road, including the potential for wireless charging within the bag (so you don’t have to plug your phone in to charge it), an LED notification light so that your bag can tell you if you have any messages, and more.
Leoht is asking for $100,000 on Kickstarter and is currently about one third of the way towards its goal. Backers pledging $150 or more will get the back and the charging plate. The Leoht (pronounced Lay-oat) will be priced at $350 once it hits retail availability. It’s not all that cheap, but it’s on par with the much smaller and less stylish Everpurse ($250) and is comparable to what you’d pay for a similar bag from Michael Kors. It is downright affordable if you’re eyeing up a leather tote from Louis Vuitton ($1,500+), Prada ($2,000+) or Chanel (you don’t wanna know).
The Leoht is the first in the company’s Seed Collection, which also includes an iPad mini-sized convertible cross-body satchel and a one-arm hobo-style bag. No word on when these will be available but the charging plate will be compatible with all three styles.
[source]KickStarter[/source]
