The Ellis — Waxed Canvas & Leather Tote, Sand & Cognac

Sand canvas with cognac trim is the lightest Ellis, and the one that most obviously reads as a warm weather bag. The wax finish gives the canvas a slight sheen when new which knocks back to a dry matte after a few weeks of carrying.

It comes in two sizes. The small is 13.5″ (34 cm) wide, 10.75″ (27 cm) high and 5″ (13 cm) deep, with a 9.75″ (25 cm) handle drop, and takes up to a 13-inch laptop. The large is 18″ (46 cm) wide, 13″ (33 cm) high and 6.25″ (16 cm) deep, with a 11″ (28 cm) handle drop, and takes up to a 16-inch laptop. Pick the size in the menu above; the price changes with it.

Buy it if your commute is on foot and the weight of an all leather tote has put you off before.

The canvas and the leather

The body is 18oz waxed cotton in a sand tone, with cognac full grain at the handles, corners and base. Pale canvas shows its fold lines sooner than dark, and they rub out with warm hands or a hairdryer on low.

How it is made

The seams that carry weight are hand stitched rather than machined, because a handle is what fails first on a tote. The base is cut as its own reinforced panel, so a full load sits flat instead of on a fold. Lined in heavy cotton twill with a zip pocket on the back wall and two open pockets facing it. Dispatch is 3 to 5 working days from order, because nothing here sits on a shelf waiting.