Pretty clearly translating to “the essentials of life”, WANT Les Essentiels De La Vie is a brand of fine leather goods that is doing everything right.  They proclaim their design aesthetic as “create(ing) a balance between a traditional style and a modern capability” and their company’s core value is “to achieve unity through contrast”, as characterized by their use of mismatched silver and gold fused zippers [above right].  They can use all the sophisticated PR jargon they want… as long as they just keep on making amazing products that speak for themselves.  The Kennedy Wallet [above left] is simple and traditional at first glance, with a subtle contrast stitch accent and leather button-down flap opposite the money clip that folds over the top to secure your four card slots.

At $450, the Kansai Computer Portfolio [above middle] is out of the cost comfort zone for many, but for those obsessed with quality, craftsmanship, and details… it might be worth the stretch.  This is my favorite product in the current lineup from WLEDLV, mainly because of the sleek design not much thicker than the laptop it holds.  The drawback for how, however, is that it only holds up to a 14″ laptop – thus losing this penguin, as I’m currently typing on 15″ macbook pro.  And on that topic, the clean lines and aesthetic qualities that will make a consumer take notice of Les Essentials, are characteristics shared by Apple products; and the Apple laptop customer who’s about to spring almost $500 for a computer case probably has the Pro model… so there’s a disconnect in logic with this size.  I still love the product and the line though; they just need to up the ante by one inch and I’m sold.