La Portegna

Located on bustling Marylebone High Street, La Portegna is a Spanish leather goods shop with a story. Founder and owner Jose Urrutia was inspired to open this handbag and accessories shop in an effort to recapture the spirit of adventurous travel, a spirit embodied by his grandparents who had a close friendship and traveled with Ernest Hemingway in the 1930’s. Spanish-born Urrutia says, “Travel was seen as a life experience rather than the quickest way to get from A to B.” Framed black-and-white photos of Hemingway hang on La Portegna’s walls above a large 1930’s leather traveling case belonging to Urrutia’s grandmother.

Urritia says he saw a gap in the market for affordable women’s bags. All cow leather goods are sourced from northern Spain and sent to a factory in Ubrique in southern Spain, an hour from Seville. Customers can get their bags monogrammed: a Portuguese craftsman comes into the shop about twice a week to do the engraving.