Our Story

ROWDY is a Cape Town-based leather bag company established in 2012. Originally built on providing beautiful and affordable leather rucksacks to local students, under the focused vision of owner Adam Young, ROWDY's mission has evolved to make a refined range of practically designed and quality leather bags that encourage thoughtful consumption while empowering our talented machinists who hand-make each and every piece. Thatā€™s why each bag comes with the ROWDY Promise, ensuring a lifetime guarantee for the useful life of the product.

ROWDYā€™s range of genuine leather bags and accessories combine clean silhouettes with leather which shows its age beautifully with wear. We use premium grade, free-range and full-grain aniline and nubuck leather cowhide sourced from our specialist tannery in Namibia.

Our design engages geometric lines influenced by minimalist aesthetic principles to create investment pieces that you will cherish for years to come.Ā  Across the ROWDY range, we are proud to use free-range, natural and unfinished leather.ā  This means that the leather hides we use are real, beautiful and full of character, showcasing the life of the hide and highlighting the differences in colour and grain. To us, itā€™s the essence of what the material is all about. The items available for the sale are by no means flawed. Rather, the varying levels of natural irregularities are an inherent beauty and quality of our leather. In fact, each bag is a story sealed in time, creating a 100% unique piece for the wearer.

As a close-knit team of spirited, friendly and entrepreneurial individuals, we are all connected by our ONE LOVE philosophy. This means that there is mutual respect for everyone within the team, and we treat each other as family - thatā€™s why we break bread and each lunch together daily.

Each ROWDY Bag is a labour of artisanal proficiency ā€“ a handmade original. Visitors are always welcome to our factory to come and meet the team, where we're always pumping our favourite tunes through our sound system and the atmosphere is full of positive energy and filled with the hum of sewing machines.

Our entire ROWDY range is available on our online and retail shops. Our factory and retail space is based at 20 Brickfield Road in Cape Town, while our flagship shop is based at 44 Stanley in Johannesburg.Ā 

Step by step, we want to grow ROWDY into a brand that is loved and supported worldwide, renowned for its quality, determination and thoughtful consumption ethos. Our muses are independent thinkers, nurturers, creators and adventurers. If youā€™re a fan of ROWDY BAGS, you buy with a conscious and resonate with our values of respecting everyoneā€™s individuality while working for the greater good in oneā€™s community. You like to support leather artisans who are upskilling themselves in a sustainable way. Thatā€™s why our purpose is to make beautiful, durable leather bags for anyone who isnā€™t afraid of swimming upstream. For anyone like you.

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