Markhor, a men’s shoe and accessory brand focused on old form craftsmanship, is currently running a Kickstarter compaign for a line of sleeves and desk pads for MacBooks and iMacs.
“We have 4+ years of experience making leather products. Some of the techniques used to make these are as old as 1800 years. The craftsmanship is our bread and butter,” Imran Haider of Markhor tells Apple World Today. “Our craftsman has procured every little material by hand including the thread and needles. Everything is hand stitched to the finest detail. And we are making them one piece at a time.”
The company plans MacBook Sleeves (in tan, black, ad white), an iMac Desk Pad (in black, brown, and grey), a MacBook Foldable Pad (in black and brown), and an “extra large” Mouse Pad. They’re handcrafted in the old city of Lahore, Pakistan. Prices haven’t been announced.
Markhor originated when its founders Sidra Qasim and Waqas Ali met with a group of craftsmen in the local village council of their hometown of Okara Everything in that workshop was literally being handcrafted. The duo learned that some of the most well-known luxury brands work with craftsmen in developing countries like Pakistan, India and Vietnam, but rarely mentions the origin of their products.
To change this they started working on the idea of Markhor. The team researched the history of leather shoemaking and acquired an appreciation for subcontinent craftsmanship, which led them to explore the traditional techniques used in their production.
The brand is named after endangered breed of wild goat Markhor (Capra Falconeri), which is natively found in northern and central mountainous regions of Pakistan and central Asia. Markhor is one of the most iconic species on earth and struggles to survive in the tough mountains of Karakoram. Therefore, it symbolizes the craftsmen of subcontinent, who have been shaping leather for generations, standing the test of time says Haider.
