Great Bags

It’s what musicians say about their passion for music, and it’s how

Seymour Mondshein and Lisa Martin feel about their backpacks,

purses, and hip bags created in leather and tapestry.

The origins of Maple Leather Company and GreatBags® can be found

in craftsmanship and skills passed down from generation to generation.

Seymour Mondshein started making bags at the age of eleven in the

back of his father’s Maple Fur Shop in Newark, New Jersey. Abraham

Mondshein was a European-trained furrier and Holocaust survivor who

loved to have his son in his workshop after school. Through trial and

error, plus coursework at both F.I.T. and Parsons School of Design in

New York City, Seymour’s designs have evolved to the many different

styles and collections that you can see today. The couple met when

Lisa came to New Jersey to be the Textiles artist-in-residence at Peters

Valley Craft Center, and the rest is history.