15 Years of Cambridge Satchel | Competition Time!

This month marks 15 years of Cambridge Satchel! Founded with a budget of £600, we’re so proud to see how we have grown. Join us on a 15-year journey of crafting beautiful heritage-inspired leather goods, and read on to find out how we're celebrating with an exciting competition!

2008 

Cambridge Satchel is founded in December 2008 with a budget of £600, in order to send our founder’s children to a better school and fund their studies. 

2009

The brand grows over the year, with satchels of every colour being developed. The brand becomes popular with adults, much to our founder’s surprise, as they were based off children’s school bags. 

2010

The brand’s Fluoro Satchels take the spotlight at London Fashion week, the light from photographers’ cameras bouncing off their neon patinas. 

Japanese brand Comme des Garçons reaches out to Cambridge Satchel to collaborate. Soon a collection of co-branded satchels is launched, and takes the world by storm. 

2011

Cambridge Satchel opens its first workshop in the heart of England. Production is brought in-house, and it has remained so ever since. 

2012

Google contacts the brand to ask if it will feature in its new Google Chrome ad series: ‘The Web is What You Make Of It’. The Cambridge Satchel story receives 6 million views. 

2013

The brand is presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the UK’s highest accolade for business success. 

The brand launches Cambridge Satchel X Vivienne Westwood, a limited edition collection featuring three satchels featuring an iconic squiggle print. 

Cambridge Satchel opens its first physical stores in Cambridge and Covent Garden, London.

2014 

Cambridge Satchel bags are worn by celebrities, fashion bloggers and people across the globe. Notable wearers by this time include Taylor Swift, Alexa Chung and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

2015

Cambridge Satchel and Vivienne Westwood team up on a second collection, this time features other designs such as The Music Case, on top of its classic satchels. Collaborations become a hallmark of the brand.

2016

Cambridge Satchel launches its long-running partnership with QEST - The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust - with a donation made for every bag bought. 

The brand partners with Brazilian footwear brand, Melissa, to launch a range of bubblegum-scented vegan-friendly bags.

2017

A quintessentially Cambridge brand, Cambridge Satchel partners with Brompton Bicycles on a collection of Satchels designed to fit on the front of your bike. Perfect for the commute!

2018

To celebrate its 10 year anniversary, Cambridge Satchel launches The Emily - a large tote that makes for the perfect work bag. 

Cambridge Satchel launches its first luxury collection: The Cambridge Collection. This features The Doctor’s Bag and The Sophie (named after Sophie Ellis-Bextor), based off a traditional heritage Doctor’s Bag. The brand will later launch The Mini Sophie.

Cambridge Satchel collaborates with style icon, Ines de la Fressange, on a range of satchels infused with a little Parisian ‘je ne sais quoi’. 

2019

The brand experiments with patterns, prints and patent leather, including tweeds and the patterned Written in the Stars collection.

2020

The company launches a co-branded collection in support of The Prince’s Foundation.

The Royal Visit: HRH King Charles III and Queen Camilla first visit the Cambridge Satchel workshop and are gifted one-of-a-kind bags designed specifically for them. 

The brand launches The Little One - a small alternative to the classic Satchel.

2021

Cambridge Satchel launches The Bowls Bag, based off antique bag from the 1930s designed to hold two wooden bowls. 

Cambridge Satchel partners with Vintage Books (Penguin) on a co-branded red Batchel featuring a Vintage book, as well as a series of author Q&A and book signings in each of the brand’s stores. 

2022

New ownership: Cambridge Satchel becomes part of The Swaine Group, backed by French business, Chargeurs. 

Cambridge Satchel partners with luxury childrenswear brand, Pepa London, on a limited edition collection of children’s bags. 

The brand launches The Binocular Bag, a portrait bag mimicking the traditional Binocular Bag - but this time for all sorts of items.

The brand announces its collaboration with The Roald Dahl Story Company, featuring a selection of bags featuring Quentin Blake’s Matilda illustrations. Cambridge Satchel’s bags are featured in the new Matilda: The Musical film.

2023

The brand launches The Artisan, a bridle leather bag, to form part of the luxury Cambridge Collection. 

Cambridge Satchel announces its collaboration with British heritage Duffle Coat brand, Gloverall.

The brand launches a collection of Micro Bags: The Micro Satchel, The Micro Bowls Bag and The Micro Poppy. 

The launch of Cambridge Satchel | Hello Kitty, featuring The Hello Kitty Face Bag, The Hello Kitty Cotton Tote, patterned Hello Kitty bags, accessories and more. 

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As we celebrate our birthday, enter our competition to win a tour of our workshop and the opportunity to design your own bag before 15 May 2024. Thank you for your loyalty over the past 15 years!