For the last five years I’ve been traveling from LA to Palo Alto in my work for the most exciting company in the world.  Hotels in Palo Alto are tough to come by, and expensive during Stanford basketball and football seasons, and in 2005, I was lucky enough to find 225 square foot “mother-in-law” unit in a great mid-century Eichler house in a cool tract of Eichler homes.  While my pad up north lacks a kitchen (I get by with a mini-fridge and microwave), I’ve come to realize that less can really be more, and super livable.  When Manhattan Beach became “disco” in the old New Economy, and charming beach cottages made way for lot to lot McMansions, my disdain for large and overbuilt increased like beach front square footage, and had me thinking about what you really need if you live in a place you really love.

I’m renovating a 1920s beach bungalow with these thoughts in mind—more on that in another post—, but I’ve tried to take the concept of physical domicile downsizing to heart in many ways.  I’m far from austere and my posts on the love of things tells that my soul is one of a collector.  But what separates a collector from a hoarder is curating.  And besides, editing is good for the soul.

I’ve been lucky enough to deal with Japanese uber-collectors of midcentury modern furniture and vintage workwear.  While acquisitive to be sure, their collecting style is a highly edited one, dictated by urban space constraints of home and closet.  Rather than owning four mediocre pairs of vintage denim, or multiple variations of the Eames shell chair, Japanese collectors search for the best examples, and stretch for that one great piece.  It’s hard for a hunter/gatherer like me to say this, but I see the wisdom in their ways, and am taking it to heart.

I’ve always over-indulged—or been sloppy with—my choice of luggage.  I always go for the best stuff (i.e. Filson), but I go large. Too large.  Same with the Dopp kit I lugged around—it was so big, it would only leave my bathroom counter as I headed outta town.  This is unnecessary.  While carry-on luggage is the badge of honor of road warriors, I’ve never lost a piece of super-sized rolling luggage that I’ve always been proud to check.

But last month I took a different tack.  I’ve always been intrigued by aluminum luggage, and went through the Zero Haliburton phase, when Sonny Crockett was chasing Colombians through the streets of Miami with Haliburton cases, chock o’ block with blow, and cash.  The real deal isn’t the American-made stuff, but Germany’s finest—Rimowa.  Created for trips to the tropics, the water- and humidity-proof Rimowa was adopted by Japanese jetsetters who prefer their pieces beat up, true to the Rimowa tagline that “every piece tells a story.”  There’s even vintage, tag-covered piece on display high above the new pieces at Rimowa’s outpost on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki.

To do this right, I bought the 22” carry-on Rimowa from Tom Park at Leather Soul Hawaii , and I’m amazed how much I can fit inside.  The luxury of packing multiple pairs of shoes is gone, but editing my travel needs is cool.  My new smaller case called for a smaller Dopp kit as well, in effect downsizing from a desktop to a netbook.  I discovered the GoToob travel containers, and am “rolling my own” , packaging my favorite smell goods and Kiehl’s products.  I picked a tiny Eagle River waterproof bag to put it all in, and instead of using one set of toiletries at home and away, “mini-me” stays in the Rimowa between trips.

While this may not seem like a big deal, and my partners in crime have always “carried on,” this is pretty new to me, and I like it.

It’s a good meditation on how I want to live my life, focusing on the stuff—literal and figurative—that matter and make the important things easier to achieve.

“Made in America” isn’t just an uber patriotic screed imploring you to buy a Dodge Charger before Fiat gets its hands on the marque, and makes the new Fiat 500, 2010’s Mini Cooper…BTW, I love the 500, old and new.

Rather “Made in America” handcrafted clothing, luxury goods, work wear, boots and clothing have become a filter for taste-making hipsters. There are several great blog, including my favorite, A Continuous Lean,  — dedicated to the subject, and while I never thought of it as a filter for my key purchases, I’m inspired by those that are really taking it to heart. Classic brands like Alden, Hamilton Shirts, Red Wing Boots as well as independent artisans are leveraging the materials, i.e. Horween Shell Cordovan that only a few of the old timers had access to. More to come later on Alden and Horween in a future post.

That brings me to Filson. Much has been written, discussed, blogged and Style Forum’d on the sale of this Seattle company and what would become of their American made clothing bags and luggage. While some manufacturing has moved offshore, the company’s mainstay bags, leather goods and luggage continue to be produced stateside. I put a lot of miles on my bags, and while often derided by my working colleagues, I’m not afraid to check a bag…sure it adds time and isn’t as cool to do so, but I love having the stuff I want with me when I get wherever I’m going. Early in my career, I was a traveling TV syndication salesman—selling shows for Disney first, then to Fox…Shows that started with Wonderful World of Disney reruns, through A Current Affair, to The Simpsons. Traveling around the country, this was the era of garment bags and Haliburton suitcases. No one had seen wheels on luggage yet, and most people checked their bags. I’ve been through the Hartmann phase, the 80’s Cadillac of luggage, on to San Francisco’s Glaser Design bags, through North Face duffles, and now to Filson. My bags of choice are the Filson medium wheeled check in bag and the extra large wheeled bag duffle. I also use the medium field bag and rugged twill tote bag as carry ons and briefcases.

But this post is an ode to the Filson medium wheeled check in bag.

This may very well be the perfect piece of checked luggage when traveling on biz, meaning an extra pair of shoes or two and a couple of suits. Think more than 2 nights, up to 2 weeks. I’ll admit that I’m goofy about bags, and I’m now applying the same rules that apply to T-shirts and sneakers—a new one comes in, and old ones gotta go. I’ve been sucked in by the allure of UK Based Globetrotter, having first seen it at Tokyo’s Beams. I also have been called to by the ultra high end Tumi Townhouse . The major difference is that the Filson pieces, aside from being beautifully crafted in waxed cotton, I prefer the otter green, and bridle leather which ages magically, are actually kitted out with thoughtful pockets and shoe pouches. While 3-4X the price of Filson, the Globetrotter and Tumi are basically big boxes, and you’re left to your own devices when it comes to a packing scheme. You may have gathered from other posts that I’m a creature of habit, and that carries through to my packing ritual. Suffice to say, the Filson layout is logical, works and makes sense.

In terms of build quality and wear, my Filson bags have seen many miles over the last 5 years. No issues, and they look better than when new—that’s the idea isn’t it? In London two weeks ago, an Abercrombie knock-off store in Nottinghill was selling pre-distressed Filson bags and duffles at 3X the price of brand new bags. Like distressed jeans, that’s just silly. The ultimate road worn bag of beauty belongs to my dear friend and colleague Mike Murphy. 3+ years ago, we all pitched in to get Mike the padded laptop bag for his birthday. Mike doesn’t travel light, and the Filson is always fairly stuffed. It’s seen the world and shows the miles that Mike has put on it building an amazing team and company. We all take great pride in seeing the bag—looking better now than when new.

While Brad and Angelina have been paparazzi’d dragging babies and Filson bags through JFK and African airports, the same goes for Twilight star, Robert Pattinson and his Filson duffle. Up and coming design houses have been working with Filson to build bags that leverage Filson craftsmanship, while putting their own spin on the product. Collaborations and mashups are nothing new, but it seems as if Filson is being thoughtful, and the limited edition collaboration designed by Apolis Activism is a great example. I pre-ordered one.

The Filson motto is “Might as well have the best,” and for the money, there really isnt a reason not to.