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Carl Friedrik: Sustainably Crafted Bags and Accessories Perfect for Adventurous Travel Card Rewards Enthusiasts

Carl Friedrik Bags Offer Travelers Sustainable Craftsmanship
Adam West

Written by: Adam West

Adam West
Adam West

Adam corresponds with finance experts to publish industry news coverage related to helping consumers achieve greater financial literacy and improved credit. He has more than 12 years of storytelling, editing, and design experience in print and online journalism and is most knowledgeable in the areas of credit scores, financial products and services, and the banking industry.

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Edited by: Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro
Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to the CardRates team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct journalism instructor at the University of Florida. Today, Lillian edits all CardRates content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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Advertiser Disclosure

In a Nutshell: The right leather accessories bring a certain satisfaction whether professionals are at the office, working from home, or traveling for business or pleasure. Carl Friedrik luggage, bags, and accessories combine traditional craftsmanship with minimalist aesthetics to create stylish items guaranteed to last a lifetime. The company uses sustainable, vegetable-tanned leather and time-honored manufacturing techniques to craft its products. And travel card rewards enthusiasts can cash in their rewards to purchase a Carl Friedrik bag that will be with them on all of their adventures to come.

Brothers Mattis and Niklas Oppermann were in the market for a high-quality, affordable laptop sleeve that combined clean Scandanavian design and minimal branding with premium sustainably sourced leather.

The brothers never found one. At the time, they only found items that were either too expensive, overdesigned, or ostentatiously branded.

No one seemed willing to put energy into creating premium leather items with the right aura of quality without calling attention to themselves. So Niklas and Mattis combined their skills to solve the problem.

They founded Carl Friedrik in 2012 to provide others with the high-quality leather goods they sought.

Carl Friedrik logo

“I was studying industrial design, my brother was studying finance, and we were both university students,” Mattis said. “We thought, ‘OK, maybe we have the right experience to produce for ourselves what we can’t find.’”

Eight years later, Carl Friedrik has grown into a leading direct-to-consumer brand that offers finely crafted leather bags, briefcases, wallets, belts, and even bulletproof luggage items to a discerning international market.

Globetrotting professionals and leisure travelers with card rewards to spend often visit Carl Friedrik for bags and accessories they only need to purchase once.

Modern Design Using Traditional Methods and Materials

Carl Friedrik — named after the brothers’ grandfather — started as a part-time student project and grew into an obsession as Niklas and Mattis wrestled with the many challenges inherent in bringing their vision to life.

As the brothers transformed their vision into a viable business, they said they maintained the values that continue to inform every item in the Carl Friedrik product line. And the products are perfect for those looking to spend hard-earned travel credit card rewards on items that reward their effort.

“Our customers want value. What differentiates us is our commitment to a Scandinavian-inspired aesthetic that originates in our heritage. And it is also in brands we’re inspired by,” Mattis said. “It’s a minimalist yet functional approach that you don’t often see in items using traditional methods and materials.”

Photo of Carl Friedrik luggage

Carl Friedrik travel products are handcrafted, modern, and meant to last a lifetime.

Mattis said the problem is that brands committed to old-school techniques too often strive to emphasize them in their design, and items come out looking homespun and rugged. Meanwhile, brands striving for a more contemporary look are too often willing to cut corners to achieve it.

However, at Carl Friedrik, form follows function, and the high-quality leather and other materials produce a unique aesthetic. As the leather ages and develops a patina, items become a perfect mix between traditional craft and modern design.

“We’re not a cheap brand. The majority of our products are made in Italy, and we use a very premium vegetable-tanned leather,” Mattis said. “But we source all our materials ourselves and work directly with our factories. That, along with our direct-to-consumer business model, allows us to achieve competitive pricing while ensuring quality.”

Improving Products through Component Transparency

The decision to purchase a premium Carl Friedrik item, including a signature Palissy briefcase, isn’t one to be taken lightly.

But customers spending travel card rewards to carry and use the Palissy or any other Carl Friedrik product can rest assured that the company’s values correspond with their own. That’s because the brothers have never been willing to cut corners on sourcing and manufacturing.

That commitment is expressed in the company’s lifetime warranty. In short, the company will repair or replace any Carl Friedrik product with functional damage that prevents it from being used — full stop. It is all part of the brothers’ commitment to continual improvement.

Photo of Carl Friedrik Founders Niklas and Mattis Oppermann

Niklas (left) and Mattis Oppermann founded Carl Friedrik to offer high-quality leather goods.

“We don’t launch new products every season,” Mattis said. “If you want to do something that lasts for life, you need to figure out what breaks after like a year and then improve it, so it doesn’t break. Based on feedback from our customers, we learn exactly where our weak points are, so we can add another stitch here or there, or maybe make the leather a bit thicker.”

And thanks to the timeless style in everything the company does, it doesn’t need to relentlessly introduce its products to its customers, as do many fast-fashion brands.

Mattis said Carl Friedrik is committed to supplier and component transparency — a stance discerning consumers support. Along with shipping details and a description, each product carries a provenance accounting for all the materials used to create it.

“There, you can learn where our materials originate and also where our manufacturers are located,” Mattis said. “Not only is transparency the right thing to do, but partners like our tanneries are also great, and we want our customers to know that.”

Travel or Work from Home with Products that Complement Each Other

Carl Friedrik is a brand dedicated to the little things that set apart the ageless from the ephemeral.

Complementary component design, for example, ensures that Carl Friedrik products work together to serve customers at home, at the office, or when traveling for business or pleasure.

Its suitcase is appropriate for both carry-on and check-in and offers the right mix of durability, light weight, and distinctive appearance. Palissy briefcases also incorporate what the company calls a smart holder to make that awkward trip from the airport lobby less arduous.

The materials in all these lines complement each other, with the robust aluminum and polycarbonate suitcases also carrying matching leather trim. It includes TSA-approved locks and an optional removable battery — on the carry-on only — to ensure devices always remain charged.

Travel card enthusiasts may also supplement their travel collection with various packing cubes and matching leather luggage tags. Carl Friedrik can even personalize the products with initials and custom leather finishes.

“You can put together a nice travel kit,” Mattis said. “You end up with this super-organized, compartmentalized interior with a briefcase on top. And upwards of 40% of our customers choose to add initials or other personalization on their products.”

Other accessories include passport covers and a line of laptop sleeves that started the brothers’ journey. The company also recently introduced a key organizer.

“One of my pleasures is reading reviews from customers who considered purchasing something at a lower price point but decided to invest their money with us,” Mattis said. “And when they receive compliments on their item, they are happy that they did.”

Advertiser Disclosure

CardRates.com is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. To keep this resource 100% free, we receive compensation for referrals for many of the offers listed on the site. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across CardRates.com (including, for example, the order in which they appear). CardRates.com does not include the entire universe of available offers. Editorial opinions expressed on the site are strictly our own and are not provided, endorsed, or approved by advertisers.