Handmade Leather Weekender Briefcase – Large – The Franklin - Made in USA

Handmade Leather Weekender Briefcase – Large – Made in USA

Description

The Franklin is a handmade leather weekender built in a briefcase format: a large, structured alternative to a duffle that handles a full workday and a weekend away in the same bag. Our family builds each one to order at Happy Hollow Farm in East Tennessee from full-grain Wickett & Craig vegetable-tanned leather, with six pockets, solid brass hardware, and a 54-inch detachable crossbody strap.

A weekender without the duffle
Duffles are great until you need to find something. The Franklin keeps the organized layout of a briefcase: files stay flat, your laptop and charger have a place, and the bag holds its shape instead of sagging into a sack. It's big enough for [two to three days of clothes] and still looks right walking into a meeting straight off a flight.

The Lincoln, three inches bigger
We built the Franklin because Lincoln customers kept asking for the same bag in a larger size. It has the same six-pocket layout, the same rope handles and strap, and the same leather, but at 18 × 12 × 5 inches instead of 15 × 12 × 5. The extra width turns a work bag into a travel bag.

Which bag is right for you

• Lincoln: daily work carry, when you don't need overnight capacity.
• Franklin: you want briefcase organization and room for a short trip in one bag.
• Carry-On Duffle: you pack mostly clothes and want the most open space.

Key features

• 18 × 12 × 5 inches, well within standard US carry-on size
• Six pockets: two large side pockets, a full-length front pocket, plus interior technology, card, pen, and general pockets
• 54-inch detachable, adjustable crossbody strap with shoulder pad, plus dual leather-wrapped rope handles
• Matching leather luggage tag with Loxx closure included
• Solid brass hardware, burnished edges
• Full-grain Wickett & Craig veg-tan leather in 20+ colors
• Built to order, 3–4 week lead time

Handmade in East Tennessee.

Please also consider these other Happy Hollow Farm Bags:

Medium Backpack

Large Backpack

Lincoln Briefcase

Duffle

Messenger Bag

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is the Franklin?
A handmade leather weekender built in a briefcase format. It works as a large briefcase for daily work and is big enough for overnight and weekend trips.

Is the Franklin a briefcase or a weekender?
Both. It has a full briefcase's organization with the capacity of a small weekender, so one bag covers the workday and the trip.

How is it different from a duffle bag?
A duffle is one open compartment. The Franklin is structured, keeps its shape, and has six dedicated pockets, so laptops, files, and small items stay organized instead of sinking to the bottom. If you mostly pack clothes, our Carry-On Duffle is the better fit.

How does the Franklin compare to the Lincoln?
The layout, handles, strap, and leather are the same. The Franklin is 18 inches wide and the Lincoln is 15. Choose the Lincoln for daily work and the Franklin when you also need weekend capacity. The Franklin also includes a matching leather luggage tag.

Is it carry-on size?
Yes. At 18 × 12 × 5 inches it fits well within the standard US carry-on limit of 22 × 14 × 9 inches.

How many days can I pack for?
Two to three days of clothes plus a laptop and toiletry bag.

Will a laptop fit?
Yes — most laptops will fit in the full-length front pocket.

Does the main compartment close?
Yes, top closure in an Excella Zipper from YKK (Japan).

How much does it weigh?
About 4 pounds

How many pockets does it have?
Six. The exterior has two large side pockets and a full-length front pocket. The interior has a technology pocket, card pocket, pen pocket, and a medium general pocket.

What carrying options does it have?
Dual leather-wrapped rope handles for hand carry, and a 54-inch detachable, adjustable crossbody strap with shoulder pad.

What leather is used?
Full-grain Wickett & Craig vegetable-tanned leather from Pennsylvania, #1 grade hides, tanned with tree bark over 14 days, with no synthetic coatings.

What colors are available?
Over 20. Classic colors include black, brown, chestnut, chocolate, tan, and russet. Bolder options include navy, blue, emerald, olive, plum, gray, burgundy, and red. Harness and embossed leathers are also available.

Will it develop a patina?
Yes. It gets richer the more you carry it, and some colors darken over time. That's normal for vegetable-tanned leather.

Where is it made?
Our family builds it by hand, one at a time, at Happy Hollow Farm in East Tennessee. We have been making leather goods there since 2019.

How long until it ships?
It's built to order, with a current lead time of 3 to 4 weeks. Shipping is free to all 50 states.

Length: 18 inches, Height: 12 inches, Depth: 5 Inches. Exterior front AND back pockets: Height: 9.5 inches, Length: 18 inches. Interior pocket: Length 15 inches, height: 10 inches.

We build each item to the order. This allows us to include more options without increasing cost and provides the customer with several customization options. Current lead time from order placement is 3 to 4 weeks.

Over $25, Free Shipping To All 50 USA States.

High quality leather may require periodic maintenance. As the leather may become dry or dirty in normal use. We recommend a high-quality leather balm to clean and condition. There are many available to choose from. We use and recommend Smith's Leather Balm which you can find in the accessories collection on our site. Smith's Leather Balm is natural and only made from organic cocoa butter, organic beeswax and 100% Pure Sweet Almond Oil. We do not stock but do use Feibing's saddle soap for cleaning.

Watch the video above to hear how Happy Hollow Farm got its start in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee — a family leather shop built on a simple belief: the things you carry every day should be made to last a lifetime.

How It Started

Happy Hollow Farm began the way most good things do — with a love of craft and a frustration with the alternative. We were tired of leather goods that looked great in the store and fell apart within a year. So we learned to make our own, starting with the basics and working our way up to the full line of bags, wallets, and accessories we offer today.

Why We Make What We Make

Every product we make starts with full-grain, vegetable-tanned leather from Wickett & Craig — one of America's last traditional tanneries, operating in Pennsylvania since 1867. We use only #1 grade hides, vegetable-tanned over 14 days in a process that produces leather with genuine character. It scratches, it patinas, it gets better with age. That's the point.

Our hardware is solid brass or stainless steel. Our zippers are Excella YKK. We don't cut corners because the people who carry our work notice the difference — and so do we.

Made in Tennessee

Everything is handmade at our farm in East Tennessee. We're not a factory. We're a small team that takes pride in every stitch, every edge, every piece that leaves our shop. When you buy from Happy Hollow Farm, you're buying something made by hand, by people who care, in a place we love.

We offer free monogramming on most products and free shipping on orders over $25. If you ever have a question about your order or our leather, we're easy to reach — just people, no bots.

There's a version of this product that costs less. You've seen it. It looks similar in the photo, ships fast, and feels fine in your hand — for about six months. Then the stitching pulls, the finish cracks, the zipper sticks. You replace it. And the cycle starts again.

At Happy Hollow Farm, we make things differently. Not because it's trendy, but because we believe the things you carry every day deserve to be built to last.

What Quality Actually Means

Quality isn't a price point. It's a series of decisions made at every step of the process — decisions that are easy to skip when no one's watching and you're trying to hit a margin.

Here's what those decisions look like for us:

• We start with the right leather. Full-grain, vegetable-tanned hides from Wickett & Craig — one of America's last traditional tanneries. #1 grade only. No splits, no corrected grain, no shortcuts.
• We let the leather develop naturally. Vegetable tanning takes 14 days. It produces leather that breathes, ages, and develops a patina unique to the person carrying it. It costs more and takes longer than chrome tanning. We do it anyway.
• We use hardware that holds. Solid brass and stainless steel. Excella YKK zippers. The kind of hardware that outlasts the leather if you let it.
• We stitch by hand or with precision machines. Every seam is meant to hold under daily use for years, not months.
• We finish the edges. Burnished, not raw. It's a detail most people don't notice until they see a product that skipped it.

Why It Matters

A well-made leather good doesn't just last longer — it gets better. The leather softens and conforms to how you use it. The patina deepens. It becomes yours in a way that a mass-produced product never does.

We make things in East Tennessee, by hand, with materials we'd stake our name on. That's the value of quality. Not just what it costs — what it's worth.