I’ve been intending to write about my multicolored shoulder bag from Camden Market for almost a year. In late March, I wrote about Camden Market and the solid perfume that I bought there (click here).
We wandered around the large mostly outdoor market, and we came upon a small shop, MM Leather Workshop, with brightly colored leather goods displayed.
I was pretty surprised because the colors caught Jeff’s eye as well as mine, and we stopped to look at the bags on display. What was unique about the purses was that they were crafted with different color leather pieces throughout each bag. I love color, so I couldn’t look away.
The further surprise is that Jeff said he would buy one for me. I was delighted!
We looked at all of the shoulder bags that were displayed outside the shop. Then we wandered into the small shop that consisted of a room with a serious-looking sewing machine and lots of bolts and pieces of colored leather. Beyond the workroom was another display room with lots of brilliantly colored briefcases and more purses.
After a while, the owner who had been on the phone came out and asked if he could help us. Somehow, we got involved in a long conversation with him. His name was Yusef, and I said he was Yusef with the Bags of Many Colors. He told us that he was named after Joseph, and he told us some stories from the Quran about Joseph that we were unfamiliar with. Although Judaism and Islam are two Abrahamic religions, their stories as well as laws are similar but also different.
We talked with Yusef for more than an hour. We asked where he came from, and he said North Africa. He had lived and worked in London for a couple of decades. But he was still close to his family back home.
I finally decided on a square shoulder bag with raspberry pink leather on the front, eggplant-colored deep purple on the back and sides, with a yellow and brown strap. Jeff did a bit of haggling, and he and Yusef quickly came to an agreement on the price.
Yusef took the bag from me, and he said he was going to make a couple of “upgrades”. He changed the hardware on the bag to more expensive-looking brushed gold.
Then he asked me to spell my name, and he embossed it on a piece of light blue leather than he attached inside the bag.
We had a lovely time getting to know Yusef. I think we also helped him make a few other sales because we were hanging out in the shop for so long that some other tourists who took a look and then walked away, ending up coming back and making purchases when they saw us still there.
My multicolored, handmade and personalized shoulder bag is a wonderful remembrance of Yusef and our visit to Camden Market!
The colors of the shoulder bag were a good match for my wallet!
Even though Camden Market is very touristy (much more so than Borough Market in Southwark), we had a fun time. We also had a yummy lunch in the Market at a restaurant that made the most delicious and sophisticated grilled cheese sandwiches we ever had!
If you’ve been to London, have you been to Camden Town and Camden Market? If you go in the future, stop in to the Leather Workshop and meet Yusef!
What a wonderful story, and it is so lovely that you were able to talk with Yusef for so long, Allison! I absolutely LOVE the purse that you selected, it is utterly gorgeous and it looks lovely with your charming polka dot wallet! It was so nice of Jeff to treat you to such a lovely purse!
Thank you, Lola xoxoxoxo
Love love love this purse. I just bought a purse online that I have to return. If I’d been at that market then I could have had something perfect like you bought! Use it in good health.
Thank you, Marcia! I had to laugh because one day I went out to lunch with one of my friends, and she was carrying a purse that she bought in Portugal that was manufacturer (not handmade I don’t think) in the same colors as mine! Must be a European thing 😉
What a lovely story! Your purse is so pretty.
Thank you, Cynthia! I must also say that the purse is holding up extremely well! xo
Allison, that purse is so lovely. When I get the chance to go to Camden Market, I’ll also stop by Yusef’s shop. Do you happen to know when he’s open?
Thanks, Lily! Say hi to Yusef from me, if you get a chance to stop by his workshop, M&M Leather, at Camden Market one of these days. We went during the week, I think it was a Friday and we got a great deal on my purse that he personalized for me. I think the shop is open everyday at UNIT 800 Camden Stables, Chalk Farm Rd, London. At first, I wasn’t all that eager to go to Camden Market because I assumed it would be too touristy and filled with T-shirt shops, but we had such a fun time meeting Yusef that it made for a very memorable day in London for us 🙂