ETTINGER AND COUNTRY LIFE CELEBRATE MAGAZINE’S 125TH ANNIVERSARY
Luxury accessories company Ettinger has joined forces with Country Life magazine to celebrate its 125th anniversary by creating the Hudson Country Life X Ettinger collection, a range of luxurious travel accessories that embody the spirit of Edwardian travel.
Country Life founder Edward Hudson recognized the opportunities offered by new modes of travel when he launched his magazine in 1897. Only five years before, Frederick Bremer had built the first British petrol-fueled car and a new generation soon discovered the freedom of exploring the British countryside. Advances in marine technology, notably the innovative turbine-driven liners, such as RMS Virginian, Victorian, and Mauretania, also created new possibilities for recreational travel. Country Life fed this new curiosity by celebrating the pleasures of the British countryside, including its architecture, gardens, traditions, and natural beauty, as well as its wealth of sporting activities. Hudson was quick to establish himself in the country, first with a new house in Sonning, Berkshire, designed by another visionary of the Edwardian age, Sir Edwin Lutyens, and then Lindisfarne Castle off Northumberland, the restoration of which the young architect oversaw.
Ettinger, founded in 1934, by the father of the firm’s managing director, also has an impressive provenance. On his arrival from Prussia, Gerry Ettinger established a leather goods company on Vigo Street in the West End, supplying stores such as Harrods, Aspreys, Fortnum & Mason and Smythson. A keen skier and linguist, fluent in French, Italian and Spanish, he traveled on business by train, even after the arrival of commercial air travel. Echoing Country Life, the founder’s love of travel informed the evolution of the brand in its early years. Today, that spirit is alive and well in the hands of his son, Robert, also a keen traveler.
The Hudson Collection brings together the values of both brands in a collection that includes everything for travelers drawn to accessories that enhance the experience of life on the move, from luggage tags and shoehorns to hip flasks and jewelry rolls. Combining the verdant green of the English countryside and Ettinger’s signature yellow, the beautifully made designs in the collection are fine examples of British craftsmanship that will offer pleasure for years to come.
The collection includes glasses cases, flasks, passport cases, and luggage tags, with a suggested retail of 470 to $220. For more information contact Ettinger directly at info@ettinger.co.uk.