Hi!! I don’t see many mentions of Aeta bags on Reddit so I wanted to share my experience with their bags in case anyone is going to Japan soon and is searching for a new bag. I got two of the three bags second hand and fought hard to get them (sold out online everywhere) so I’m not affiliated with Aeta in any way. I genuinely love their bags and think they deserve a bigger recognition on the west.
These bags feel like a hug! They are made of deerskin and have a very soft almost suede feel to them. Zippers are Riri, a higher quality alternative to YKK used by many luxury brands. It was actually my first time touching a product made out of deer leather and I was shocked at how much I liked it even compared to calfskin. Very nice pronounced grain and matte subtitle shine.
Aeta is a brand quite popular in Japan but they are still small and independent. They don’t have a flagship but are sold in many concept stores/boutiques + online. I think the prices are pretty reasonable: their medium bags are roughly 300 euros. Secondhand I paid 100 and 200 euros (for a tote and a Boston Long Handle)
I was hunting for that Boston Long Handle half a year waiting for it to appear online anywhere but it never came back in stock (Aeta promised it soon will). I wanted a bag that can hold an ebook and my drawing essentials + with longer handles because I hate when bags dig into your armpit. So I turned to Mercari and after digging through many fakes (I’m shocked they even make fakes of Aeta bags! but Aliexpress is full of them) finally found the genuine one.
I included some pictures of what the bags fit and how they look like worn (i’m 5’4). They are very soft in structure and allow some wiggle room (might not look their best when completely stuffed but can hold a lot of needed). That’s the reason I like soft bags over the structured ones.
So yeah here is my little review, let me know if you have any questions. Let’s support leather craft and work ethics of independent designers instead of LVMH brands and their “it” bags :)