The Story of Meqnes
Meqnes is an homage to the Moroccan city of Meknes. The city is known for their colorful ceramic tiles in geometric patterns that date back to the 10th century. This attention to detail and quality craftsmanship is represented in the new collection of laptop sleeves, scarves and cardholders. Handcrafted from high-quality materials, each piece is designed to elevate your everyday.
Early Beginnings
So you could say that Meqnes began many years ago in Meknes, Morocco.
Growing up, co-founder Kamal Jahid learned from his impeccably stylish grandfather that the right suit and accessories can give you not only a head-turning look, but the confidence to follow your goals and dreams.
He came to Europe as a student intern, bouncing from Krakow, to Berlin, to Paris before settling in Warsaw. Along the way, he slowly built his empire as a personal stylist, entrepreneur and author.
His co-founder David Liebers is from New York came to Poland to work in human rights, then returned to the US to go to Harvard Medical School and now doing his residency in psychiatry at NYU. At the same time, he has been developing his interest in fashion and design for a decade.
They met on Warsaw’s Nowy Swiat Street through mutual friends, and quickly bonded over mutual interests like psychology and men’s fashion.
One day, they took a trip to the Moroccan desert where, amid the intoxicating sights, sounds and aromas of the medina, they (re-) discovered Moroccan leather and the tradition of handmade leather goods.
(Read: The True Origins of Meqnes)
The pair returned from their trip full of inspiration and carrying new leather bags.
Just as when he’d take one of his grandfather’s vintage travel bags with him, Kamal found that he and David were attracting appreciative looks and even questions about their unique, sophisticated travel accessory.
That’s what sparked the idea: Everybody loved them, so why not offer these bags to the world?
And then they had a second idea. Why not turn this into a true collaboration?
Poland has started producing some of Europe’s finest leather. Why not put magical Moroccan designs together with Europe’s highest quality leather and parts?
They began working closely with Moroccan leather artisans to design vintage-style luxury bags that gave a taste of what it means to be at the leather stall at a Moroccan medina.
They went through 35 designs before arriving at the right one.
Back in Warsaw, the renaissance of interest in leather products was roaring and a number of prominent old leather manufacturers were beginning to experiment with extremely high-quality leather and new designs.
After finding the right artisan, team was complete.
Thus Meqnes was born.
A Moroccan guy and an American guy, producing Moroccan-Polish luxury men’s bags and leather accessories.
The Meqnes travel bag was a massive success. It thrills us every day to think that it’s being carried in airports and train stations around the world, bringing style to places near and far.
But lately, we’ve started turning our thoughts to the smaller things.
What good is a gorgeous leather bag if what’s inside it doesn’t have that same unique elegance?
We’ve become fascinated with small but essential accessories: card holders (the sophisticated alternative to a bulky wallet), key rings, belts, and desk pads.
What if we could use our aesthetic sensibility and army of artisans to elevate these everyday objects to something remarkable?
Made of snake embossed Italian leather, available in 5 unforgettable colors, able to be personalized with elegant gold embossed lettering, our card holders, keyrings, Safety Masks, belts, and desk pads transform mundane gestures like finding your credit card, unlocking your door, getting dressed in the morning, and getting down to business, into stylish moments.
Like our bags, our Meqnes accessories are not only about quality designs, but quality craftsmanship.
Each one is made of 100% imported snake embossed Italian leather, lovingly worked by our skilled team of artisans in Warsaw Poland.
Recently, we’ve also started working on a new, unexpected must-have accessory.
Today, in order to take care of ourselves and those around us, wearing a face mask has become a “must”.
We wanted to do our part, so we created a premium cotton with OEKO-TEX standard 100 mask that’s washable, reusable, and doubled-layered. Made with the same quality craftsmanship as our products, our Meqnes Safety Solidarity Masks feature the same motif as the lining of our bags, providing a spot of color and style in these dark times.
We began to offer a free mask with any purchase. And then, things took off.
People appreciated that the Meqnes mask keeps them safe, but also lets them still be stylish. They wanted to buy masks for friends and loved ones.
We’re now proud to offer masks purchased individually or in groups of ten. With each one purchased, we donate another to a senior citizen here in Warsaw, Poland.
Meqnes’ masks have become a stunning success. We’ve received grateful testimonials and selfies from wearers around the world. We’re proud to help, and to do our part keeping the world safe and stylish
Our Meqnes travel bags are where we started, and will always be the heart of our company. Now, we’re proud to also focus on the smaller things, bringing unique elegance to every moment of your day.
Here's to new beginnings!
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