3 Timeless Stories To Reacquaint Yourself With

Do you recall the sense of wonder you felt when you were a child reading your favourite storybook? For Quanda Ong, the master talesmith and founder of Gnome & Bow, books were the key to unlocking his imagination when he was young.

“Books were my portal to magical worlds that brought me endless awe,” says Ong, who has vivid memories of racing through favourite series like The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and The Famous Five from cover to cover as a child.

These stories also spurred him to seek out moments of excitement and magic in everyday life. “Even when not reading, my mind was a wanderer and in the real world, I explored my creativity through art, play and travel. I often look for that spark in things around me and I like to wonder, what’s the story behind this cup or what if a bag could tell a story.”

This love for storytelling led him to launch Gnome & Bow, a bag, wallet and accessory brand. Its brand mascot, Greg, is an intrepid gnome who wears a distinctively large bow tie. The Gnome represents that element of fantasy while the Bow symbolises the mark of class. As a “talesmith”, Greg magically weaves stories into leather goods at Gnome & Bow and cheekily signs off his messages with “Yours happily ever after”, a nod to the quintessential ending in fairytales.

The brand’s design philosophy can be seen throughout its products where different elements of books and stories permeate every aspect of its design. For instance, the wallets are packaged in exclusively made book-shaped boxes that are different in every collection. Tip: They can be repurposed as a decorative element in one’s personal library.

Quotes from the stories are printed on the bags and sometimes, the storybook characters are even featured in the bag designs as recurring motifs. Plus, their luggage tags and lanyards open like a book while its leather bag tags can also double up as bookmarks.

Since the brand launched in 2013, it has released three collections inspired by three classic stories. Ong explains how these literary classics are incorporated into their bag designs.

Inspired by: The Hare & The Tortoise, a story in Aesop’s Fables

It all started with Ong’s quest to feature a story that everyone knows about. So, he decided on The Hare & The Tortoise, a popular story in the classic Aesop’s Fables about a slow-moving tortoise who challenges a proud hare to a race. The hare, who is confident he will win, decides to take a nap in the middle of the race, only to wake up to discover that the slow but steady tortoise has won the competition. 

At that time, Ong had a backpack with two zippers, and he had a Eureka moment to reimagine a rematch by turning the zips into “race tracks”. The bags feature subtle details of zipper embossed with the image of the tortoise and the hare and tabs that say “Start” and “Finish”. There are also checkered stitching on the leather to symbolise the iconic black and white flags used in racing. Who wins in your version?

Plus, those who have read Aesop’s Fables may notice that bags in this collection such as the Thyme Messenger and Aspen Briefcase are named after trees and plants in the story!

Inspired by: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

For the second collection, Ong wanted to showcase the concept of “doubles”. So, he looked to the classic story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde about two alter egos in the same man - this Gothic tale depicts the struggle between the gentlemanly Dr Jekyll and his destructive second self, Mr Hyde. 

For Ong, this was a good opportunity to push design boundaries even further. He says, “If one man can have two personalities, one bag sure can too. Our range of bags and wallets are designed to showcase the two contending faces of human nature - the rational, reserved side versus the wilder, more spontaneous inner self.”

This is why there are two different designs on each bag in this collection as this allows the user to decide which aspect of his or her personality to reveal at any given time. “One side features a classic and lustrous nylon surface which speaks of a distinguished Dr. Jekyll. When flipped inside out or back-to-front, depending on the design, the bags reveal a custom printed cotton canvas, with each illustration showcasing the unconventional ways of Mr. Hyde,” Ong elaborates.

Each bag style, like the Abbey Clutch and the Milton Crossbody Clutch, is also named after famous streets in London where the story was set.

Inspired by: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

For Book III, The Three Musketeers is the basis for Gnome & Bow’s third collection. This French novel is a historical swashbuckling adventure about a group of men who unite to fight for justice and have plenty of exciting escapades along the way. The book’s famous quote “All for one, one for all” became the unifying concept of this range, with the wearer as a musketeer among this band of heroes.

This theme of unity is showcased through a series of bags and wallets that are designed to work in synergy with each other. For instance, some of the bags come with a detachable pouch - a symbolic nod to the individual who is integral to the team and its cause. This also offers versatile options for the user who can choose to use each item separately or together, depending on his or her needs. You will also notice that half of the quote Un por tour (one for all) is debossed on the pouch and the other half Tour por un (all for one) can be found on the main bag.

 And if the names of the bags, like the Constance Crossbody and Porthos Briefcase sounds familiar, that is because they are also characters in The Three Musketeers!