The Rocket Bag.
Bill Amberg's most celebrated design. Made once, for you.
In collaboration with Bill Amberg Studio, London
An icon, made singular.
The Rocket Bag is a Bill Amberg icon. Originally developed in 1990, it has become a classic of both design and leathercraft — entering the V&A Museum's permanent archive in 2001, as well as the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The piece is Bill's modern interpretation of a traditional briefcase design, with smooth, fluid curves inspired by the classic rocket silhouette.
Its aesthetic impact is enhanced by the ancient-meets-modern material contrast between traditional bridle leather and gleaming polished aluminium. The leather used is a premium-grade vegetable-tanned Italian shoulder hide, aniline dyed for the perfect balance between durability and a natural look. To achieve the sateen shine and silky tactility of the surface, the leather is plated — subjected to great heat and pressure — before it passes to craftsmen in the workshop for shaping and stitching.
The interior is lined with tactile pigskin suede and fitted with seven pockets in varying sizes to accommodate devices, stationery, a wallet, and everyday necessities, including an elasticated document holder. A padded base protects a laptop from accidental damage. Available in Black, Chestnut, Tan, or Dark Brown — each Rocket Bag is handmade to order.
For more than 40 years, Bill Amberg Studio has been a leader in bespoke leather products, furniture and architectural interiors. The London-based studio brings together designers and highly skilled artisans from traditional disciplines including saddlery, case-making, bookbinding and fine leathercraft. Historic techniques are combined with contemporary design to explore the aesthetic, functional and architectural possibilities of leather.
Craft
The studio's makers come from a variety of traditional craft backgrounds. Through collaboration and cross-training, these specialist skills are preserved, developed and adapted for contemporary leatherwork.
Design
The workshop is central to the design process. Ideas are developed through making, prototyping and experimentation, giving designers and craftspeople a detailed understanding of how to achieve the finest result for every project.
Collaboration
Bill Amberg Studio works closely with architects, interior designers, artists, brands and private clients from initial concept through to final delivery. Every commission is thoughtfully designed for its intended person, place and purpose.
Sustainability
The studio believes sustainability begins with creating objects and interiors that last. Products are designed to be used, maintained and repaired for generations. Materials are selected for quality and durability, while partner tanneries and suppliers are expected to meet high ethical and environmental standards.
Bill Amberg
Bill Amberg grew up in Northampton, the historic centre of the British shoemaking industry. Surrounded by leather from childhood, he began learning to use knives, awls and needles with offcuts collected by his mother. A commission to create a bespoke leather floor led to the formal establishment of Bill Amberg Studio in 1984. His work in bags, furniture, architecture and interiors has since earned international recognition.
Bill is a trustee of Cockpit Arts and the National Leather Collection, an honorary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers, and the recipient of honorary doctorates from University of the Arts London and the University of Northampton. His iconic Rocket Bag forms part of the permanent collections of London's Victoria and Albert Museum and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The studio has worked with some of the world's most respected architects, institutions, hotels and luxury brands.
Apple · Aston Martin · Bloomberg · Burberry · Claridge's · Ferrari Formula 1 · Foster + Partners · Harrods · Heatherwick Studio · Leica · McLaren · Montblanc · Patek Philippe · Rolls-Royce · The British Library · The Dorchester · The Savoy · Victoria and Albert Museum · Westminster Abbey · Zaha Hadid Architects
The same hand. Every surface.
Bill Amberg Studio's interior practice extends the same philosophy — no pattern repeated, no material compromised — to residential, commercial, marine, and aviation environments. We present their work to clients for whom a single object is not enough.
Residential
Private houses and apartments. Library walls, stair treads, door panels, furniture. Leather as architecture.
Commercial
Headquarters, private members' clubs, boardrooms. Environments that communicate authority without announcement.
Yachts
Superyacht interiors demand materials that perform at sea and endure decades. Bridle leather, properly treated, does both.
Private Aviation
Cabin interiors for ACJ, BBJ, and Gulfstream platforms. Every surface — bulkhead, seat, headliner — in a single hand.
A commission begins with a conversation.
Consultation
We arrange a private meeting — in London, or at your location — with Bill Amberg Studio. Dimensions, use, travel patterns, and aesthetic preferences are discussed in full.
Hide selection
Hides are selected from the tannery by hand. You are invited to participate. The character of the leather — its grain, its weight, its colour — is chosen, not assigned.
Making
The bag is cut and stitched by a single maker in the London workshop. Lead time is typically twelve to sixteen weeks. No shortcuts are taken.
Delivery
The finished piece is delivered in person, with its full provenance document — the maker's name, the hide's origin, the hours spent. It is yours, entirely.
Commission a Rocket Bag, or discuss an interior project.
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