In 2012, Carl Friedrik was founded in London by Swedish brothers Niklas and Mattis Oppermann with an aim to make high-quality leather and travel goods. Fast forward to today—their bags have been featured popular shows like Succession and they continue to craft beautiful and timeless products that are built to last. I had an opportunity earlier this year to chat with Chris Reid, CF's Head of Design about their process and approach to craft.
Your products are designed with timeless lines and shapes and you use premium materials like aluminium and vachetta leather. What would you say is your product ethos and what shapes how you think about the design of your products?
At Carl Friedrik, our design ethos has always been centred around producing products that last as long as possible, hence every item is backed by a lifetime guarantee.
A big part of this comes down to material choices. We work with the likes of aluminium and Makrolon polycarbonate to produce our suitcases, which are inherently long-lasting materials that retain a modern aesthetic.
The vachetta leather we use is also extremely durable, which gives our leather bags structure and our suitcases detailing that will stand up to the trials and tribulations of modern travel.
I would love to hear you draw out some key elements of your design process. When you approach a new project like a piece of luggage how do you start into that process? Is it exploratory? Are there lots of prototypes?
Every project starts with a design brief, to map out the demand, customer and overall goal. Key questions are: who is the product aimed at? What is the use case? In what environment will they use it?
From here we conduct early concept sketches digitally and by hand. We would then have a group meeting to align on the direction before moving into digital renders using Keyshot for hard goods and Clo3D for soft goods.
The next step would be to validate these ideas through physical samples, which we again review as a team and make adjustments.
Our partner would then make final samples based on these comments, which we will sign off as a final production-ready sample.
One consistent thread throughout the whole process is working collaboratively as a team, as well as with our factories and suppliers, to come up with the best final product for customers.
How do you know when something you’ve made finds resonance with an audience? Once you find resonance how do you decide what to do next?
We are fortunate to have a close connection with our customers, who often leave detailed feedback after purchasing and using products. If certain products or features keep getting called out positively, that’s always a good sign.
Coupled with this are regular surveys designed to identify customer habits and trends around travel and design preferences. We use this information to inform the product roadmap.
Such is the strength of our relationship with customers that we raised £1 million in a recent investment round solely through customers who wanted to invest in the brand.
Lots of CF pieces centre around travel and carry. What gets you excited about travel and how does that show up in your work?
Everything we do at Carl Friedrik focuses on improving people's journeys and helping them arrive at their destinations smoothly, hence our motto is ‘Carry with confidence’.
A designer's secret is people watching, and there is no better way than whilst travelling in an airport where people are at their most taxed.
You can see the pinch points, such as when people struggle to carry a backpack and suitcase or get through security without digging through half their luggage.
These frustrating aspects of travel are what we try to remedy with smart design decisions. We firmly believe that great design solves issues without people even noticing; instead, it subtly blends in with their lives.
Lastly, I would love to know what your favourite Carl Friedrik piece is and why? What story should we know about how it was designed and made?
My favourite product right now is the 72-hour Backpack. Most of my travel is for business which you will know is all about moving through the airport, taxi and train as efficiently as possible.
72-hour Backpack easily carries 2-3 days of clothes, a laptop and equipment, all while staying hands-free. The front lid opening gives you a similar packing experience to a suitcase, allowing easy access to liquids in an airport or your clothes when you get to the hotel.
The integrated luggage holder allows you to simply attach 72-hour Backpack to any of our Hybrid suitcases, taking the weight off your shoulders when you need it most.
I had a chance to use and test the Carry-on Suitcase throughout the course of this year. Everything from the tactile click of the handle buttons to the subtle leather trim was extremely well thought-through. I highly recommend it for your next adventure or weekend getaway.
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