Our Story

My First Leather Jacket

I still remember when I got my first leather jacket from a leather wholesale market in Karachi (more on my hometown in a while). Visiting the picturesque and cold Naran & Kaghan valley in the northern region of Pakistan, with my mates at the corporate entity we used to work for, the rich feel and comfort of leather plus the compliments I received really amazed me.

A Desire To Go Solo

But hey, perhaps it started even before that in 2008, when I landed my first corporate assignment after university and quickly realized that working in corporations wasn’t for me. With no money to invest and Dad getting older, I decided to stick it out for a while and struggled to find a way out for a long time. All the while, I was saving a portion of every paycheck to give my future venture a chance when the time and idea were right.

Welcome to the Alaskan Leather Company—a brand founded with a vision to craft stylish, practical, and durable leather goods.

Getting Our Hands Dirty

Building my brand from the ground up required wearing many hats and handling every aspect of the business to ensure its success. From sourcing high-quality materials to overseeing product design, I focused on creating a brand that stood out for its craftsmanship and durability.Through persistence and a hands-on approach, I was able to turn a vision into a thriving brand, learning and adapting at every step along the way.

Idealizing on our Brand

In my quest to search for brand components that best match our values and concept, I pondered a hundred ideas but every time I decided on one there was some confusion.

It was a Sunday morning, as I scrolled the internet, I came across an article on Ada Blackjack, a gritty native Alaskan woman who survived Wrangel Island on her own, a desolate arctic island for two years and dare I say this is what I wanted my brand to be. Something truly ORIGINAL. . Something that has not been infiltrated by materialism. A land of mountains, ice, flora and fauna unheard off.

Leather had always inspired us with its tough attitude and character. We wanted our name to be built on time tested values of struggle and perseverance reminiscent of a true Alaskan, rather than anything that is far from original. The mountain logo, #BornTough #AlaskanSpirit all followed quickly.

Something About Karachi and Leather

Get your hands onto a quality branded leather jacket or briefcase in the West and chances are that it originated from Pakistan. Surprisingly, few brands reveal it. We are proud to let our customers know of our origins from Karachi, Pakistan.

Karachi is among the top ten biggest cities in the world. It's Pakistan's true metropolitan city (people from all other parts of the country come here to work), at the tip of the Arabian Sea, home to 22m souls (Yes 22m), not very far away from Mumbai and matches its Indian neighbor every bit in character and chaos as both cities have sprawling working class populations.

Leather tanneries and craftsmen started popping up in Karachi right after Pakistan was formed in 1947 gaining independence from British ruled sub continent (around 4m got killed on their way to Pakistan during migration). Karachi, being a port city was the hub of all industrial activity and leather artisans migrating from other parts of sub continent soon found capitalists who were ready to invest in their craft. With large rural centers based on agriculture and dairy in other parts of the country, a conducive supply chain of leather hides was created supporting the industry, elevating Pakistan among the top exporters of leather goods and hides. To this day, Karachi is ranked among top leather exporters in the world. Sialkot, another industrial center of Pakistan is world renowned for manufacturing footballs (and other sports goods) used in World Cups and global events. The industry provides employment to a good number of skilled individuals in both cities.

The Leather craftsman community of Karachi is close knitted and weaves magic, with knowledge and expertise passed on from one generation to another.

Looking Ahead

It's been a lovely ride so far, full of the expected and unexpected. We've had our fair share of experiences to learn from, doing things from scratch. Going ahead with an expanding customer base, we feel the need to keep a constant focus on our processes and methods in order to achieve an ever enhancing level of quality.