What do the names Traviata, Viola and Gloria all have in common? Aside from being the one-word titles of world-famous operas, they’re also the names of three Launer London handbags. “Most of my bags are named after operas or singers because I used to be a classical musician, and I’m a big fan of the genre,” says Gerald Bodmer, owner of the company luxury handbag and small leather goods company.
For more than 60 years, the brand has been lovingly handcrafting structure bags – like the Traviata – for the Queen to have and to hold, after being appointed a Royal Warrant in the 1960s. “It’s a tremendous honour having the warrant,” Gerald says. “Not many people can say they have touched something the Queen has. Plus, I think it does us a lot of good export-wise and it makes people believe in our quality.”
This esteemed warrant recognises those who supply goods or services to the households of HM The Queen, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh or HRH The Prince of Wales. It lasts for five years and, according to Gerald, it can take up to five years to get: “You have to submit reams of stuff, including a whole sustainability case – they ask about the leather, where it comes from and you have to back it all up with loads of facts.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2020 من Surrey Life.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2020 من Surrey Life.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
The House That Rocks
Transforming an impressive, seven-bedroom Victorian property in Dorking wasn’t without its challenges, but the result is a stunning family home that has had the interiors world raving
REMEDY FOR SUCCESS
Surrey’s Tracy Borman discusses the return of her heroine healer in the final book of her best-selling fictional trilogy
Love Celia
Actress Celia Imrie has travelled the world for work and leisure but wherever she goes there is a part of her which is forever Surrey
EXHIBITION OF THE MONTH
Art & Action: Making Change in Victorian Britain at Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village in Compton focuses on the Victorian roots of art activism
Electric dreams
The Range Rover plug-in hybrid brings silent electric motoring to this iconic luxury car
THE OPEN ROAD
Chris Pickering rounds up some of the best drives in Surrey
TOWN AND COUNTRY: Oxted & Limpsfield
With the North Downs looming nearby and glorious countryside surrounding it, Oxted is a town with real “escape from London” appeal and character, while nearby Limpsfield has a superb village vibe with its own community-run pub
Artist to the stars
Known as ‘The Face of Modern British Impressionism’, Mickleham-based Sherree Valentine Daines is celebrating four decades at the forefront of her field
A RIGHT ROYAL WELCOME
The Signet Collection’s inaugural hotel project is a reimagining of a former royal guest house, situated directly opposite Hampton Court Palace
TOWN AND COUNTRY: Godalming & Hascombe
On the banks of the River Wey, Godalming is a watercolour pretty town surrounded by pristine countryside and in-demand rural villages, such as Hascombe