Douglas Rose launches luggage brand for dudes in Charlotte -- just in time for the holidays

If LinkedIn is looking for someone to be in a new ad campaign, they should consider Douglas Rose.

About two years ago, when Rose was trying to turn his dream of a men’s leathergoods brand into a reality, he took to LinkedIn. He searched New York City (his hometown) and fashion designers, and messaged every single person who came up. Not all of them answered, but some did. And it worked.

He got in touch with someone who used to work at Coach, someone who used to work at Tommy Hilfiger, and these connections led to other connections which eventually led to him launching his men’s luggage brand, Douglas Rose, last week during an event at Tabor men’s clothing store in Myers Park.

Rose said it wasn’t his idea to name the brand after himself, but Chris Cortez, who helped Rose with the branding, told him, “I’ll only work with you if you name your brand after yourself.” 

He liked Rose’s name.

Rose worked with artisans in Spain, designers in NYC and sourced leather from Italy to create the handmade bags. Pro golfer Webb Simpson was also involved with the development of Douglas Rose. Rose said the two met after their wives became friends, and they hit it off.

“In any way you can be involved, he’s jumped in to be involved,” Rose said. “Other than my wife, he’s my biggest supporter.”

The brand largely consists of three types of bags, which you can get in a variety of materials and colors:

– A golf bag (starting at $1,395), which has a rubber bottom crafted by Vibram, the company that has been making soles for shoes since the 1930s. (You might know them from their “FiveFingers” style of running shoe.)

– A weekender bag (starting at $850).

– And a smaller day-trip/overnight bag (starting at $640).

Douglas Rose also has a golf shoe bag (starting at $145) and a linen or wool cap ($115).

The inspiration for the line came from the “meaningful stories and … relationships that make life extraordinary,” Rose wrote on his website. For him, it was his relationship with his dad, going on trips or to sporting events. And taking his son to watch a Yankees game. And going to play a round of golf with his friends.

And each detail on the bags has a story, from the channeling on the golf bag being inspired by a vintage car seat to the old coins stamped with the Douglas Rose logo embedded in the bags.

“I wanted to create something that’s beautiful,” he told me at the launch event. “I wanted to create something that’s timeless, elegant. … I want to create a platform for telling that story, because in a lot of ways the brand itself is a product, but I also want it to be a story.”

Rose grew up in New York City, but Charlotte is home now. He went to college at Davidson and moved to Charlotte in 2011. He has four kids and eight chickens here, and his sister and parents now live here. It made sense to launch the brand in Charlotte.

“I just love Charlotte,” he said. “It’s such a perfect place for the pace of life.”

 Learn more about Douglas Rose bags at www.douglasrose.co.

Photos: Corey Inscoe; Anna Naphtali for Tiny Horse

This story was originally published December 21, 2016 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Douglas Rose launches luggage brand for dudes in Charlotte -- just in time for the holidays."