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Updated: Apr 12, 2022 102 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Minimalistic Leather Convertible Satchel Bag with Engraving

Coffee Break |

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young professional woman has her back turned to the camera; she wears a blood red backpack/satchel/briefcase.

Which are your favorite Etsy sellers/slow fashion/conscious options for work bags, readers? Also, why is Etsy so dangerous from a shopping perspective? After linking some Etsy options for the wallet I posted yesterday, I of course got sucked into Etsy's recommendation engine. 45 minutes later I emerged, having ordered a new necklace from Belgium and a few notes for myself for future coffee breaks.

[Update: and I now know why my Belgian necklace seller was on break for a week: apparently there's an Etsy boycott going on because of increased fees and so forth. Readers are discussing more thoroughly in the comments.]

Up first: this lovely convertible work backpack from Etsy seller MykLeather (apparently based in Poland). There are a ton of options for customizable bags with tons of options for colors (this bag offers 9 color options). (From the same seller: this Macbook backpack looks fabulous, as does this minimal crossbody. (I don't need a new crossbody, I don't need a new crossbody… maybe I need a new crossbody?) You can also do a totally custom order, if, for example, someone wanted a crossbody to be slightly larger than what is shown. Just, you know, for example.

The pictured satchel is $106.80 (on sale, but final sale only).

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Sales of note for 9.30.24

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. Anon

    As a piercing fanatic, I need to stay AWAY from Etsy if I want to be able to pay my mortgage. I could make a full-time job of shopping for jewelry on that s1te.

  2. Diana Barry

    Following on the lunch discussion from this am…my work event next month will be a big gathering, c-tail event, dinner, etc., with hundreds of people. I am planning on not eating/drinking and keeping my KN95 on the whole time except for pictures. Are people going to these big superspreader dinners/galas now without masks? I assumed there will be at least a few other people there who are masked, but the am discussion made me think maybe not.

    • NYCer

      Based on my recent experiences, you definitely will not be the only one in a mask, but there will be far, far more people not wearing masks.

      • Anon

        +1 In my recent experience at events like this, most people are not masked, some people do mask and nobody has said anything about it. I’m not masking anymore, but if I heard somebody comment on or ask about somebody else’s mask I would 100% judge the asker for being rude, but not the mask wearer.

      • anon

        +1. Blue city, red state. You will likely see a few other people masked, but for the most part, I assume if someone is still masked, there is is a reason that is none of my business. Might I suggest getting one of the fun KN95 masks from MASKC? Speaking from experience, it is more likely to solicit comments about being cute than any negative feedback about wearing a mask.

        • Anon

          Just a warning. I purchased some masks that were marketed as KN95s from Maskc, and they are not. From reading online reviews, this appears to be common. So, I would recommend purchasing somewhere else.

      • Anon

        Agreed. Unfortunately you’re just going to look like a party pooper or performative.

        • LaurenB

          Disagree totally. Normal people know that there are people who are immunocompromised, live with an elderly person, etc who don’t want to risk it and want to wear a mask. Only losers and weirdos would judge someone for wearing a mask; I couldn’t care less what such people might think.

        • Anon

          I disagree too. I just got back from a conference that was 99% unmasked but no one even looked twice at those who were. It’s a personal choice thing.

          I think the sight of a mask on another person only offends die-hard COVID deniers and, apparently, a good 50% of this board.

      • Diana Barry

        Yeah, I’d sooner not go either, but unfortunately I have to be there (I am a named part of the program).

    • Nesprin

      Go, wear your mask and have a great time! Masking is still a simple, cheap, effective way to protect yourself. If you have medical things that make you more vulnerable that’s nobody’s business- you wearing a mask makes it more comfortable/socially acceptable for other cautious folks.

    • Jo March

      I think you’re likely to be the only one or one of very few. I don’t even think I’ve heard the term superspreader event in months. Where I am (blue city, red state), all social events are back, and the only folks our age I see masking are those with unvaxxed kids or other health concerns in their immediate household, though even many of those parents have returned to indoor dining, etc. One of my friends even attended a work conference last week sans mask and reported very few folks were masked there, even though many of the attendees work in health-adjacent fields.
      No comments from this non-parent with no immediate immunocompromised family members about what is the right call, but at least around me this is what I’m seeing.

    • Anon

      I’m going to such an event — ceilings will either be 30ish feet (giant hotel ballroom) or outside and we all have to test first. It’s probably much safer than the arena concerts and NBA games in my city.

      I did like a mask when it was freezing b/c it was like a scarf for my face, but it’s just too hot for that. I’m vaxxed. I have kids in schools where maybe 25% of kids got shots (and people go to school sick all the time) and the sky has not fallen. I’m honestly shocked b/c I’m not a lucky person, so I think that this will be OK. There’s a lot about COVID that we still don’t know but the #s are and have been looking like the sky is not falling.

    • anon

      Not a work event, but I was just at a 300 person wedding in NY and there was not a single mask (and there were several grandparents in attendance).

      • anon

        I just did this. 150 person wedding, tight quarters. 2 covid cases post-wedding. I was in the bridal party and we did a pretty decent phone tree. Probably canvassed 80-90% of the guest list two weeks post wedding and those were the only two positive cases. Yes, I know – those were the only known cases (vs unknown/asymptomatic) but work with me here. Hardly the massive super spreader event OP suggests.

        One person there had a mask, and it was the bride’s grandmother. I’m in Boston and we’re pretty covid conscious people relatively speaking.

        • Anon

          I just posted below and i know of a recent wedding in the northeast where ~75/200 guests now have Covid. Personally i think we are at the point where tests or so widely available and easy to administer that while not perfect the norm should be to test before attending a large unmasked event. It takes less effort than getting a manicure

    • Anon

      I was at a conference the other day – maybe 2-3 of 200 wore masks? No one said anything negative to them. My view is that if you want to wear one – good for you! Not for me, but I won’t judge you for doing so.

      • Anonymous

        Wonder if I was at the same conference. I just had the same experience. Conference was in a red state, but attendees from across the country.

    • Anon

      Recently attended in office meeting with ~100 people and I was the only person masked. I wore an N95 given a medical condition most people knew about. In blue city in blue state at company that has been pretty cautious (required vaccinations in the fall).

    • Anon

      Yep, just went to a 5k person gala in San Francisco where maybe 5 people wore masks. I was not one of them. I’m not at risk of anything severe from Covid, triple vaxxed and no longer willing to put life on hold. I was shocked that this seemed to be a majority view in very Covid-cautious SF.

      • Anon

        I think this is not just about how cautious you are but also about how much masks bother you. To me, wearing a mask is not “putting life on hold.” Staying home would be and I agree I’m unwilling to do that now. But I see literally no downside to wearing a mask to a large gathering or store, and it substantially reduces my chance of getting sick so why wouldn’t I? Just my perspective as a mask wearer who accepts I’ll get Covid eventually and is traveling, going to large gatherings, etc.

        • Anonymous

          totally agree
          i think other people get pissed at mask wearers because it reminds them there’s a pandemic going on.

        • Cb

          Yeah, this is where I stand. I can deliver a lecture, travel, shop in a mask without it bothering me so I wear them even when not required.

          • Anonymous

            I wear a mask all the time in public too, but I have to say that I find public speaking to be THE most difficult thing to do in a mask. I can’t figure out why, because I also sing in one, which I’d expect to be harder. I guess talking somehow requires more air to project, and for a presentation it’s mostly fortissimo? Other people I work with have also commented that giving presentations in a mask is difficult, so it’s not just me.

          • Cb

            I use a FFP2 which sits away from my face and that helps. But also I think it’s a practice/breath control thing. If I don’t let myself settle before diving in, I find myself gasping for breath.

        • LaurenB

          +1. Currently in a red state, still wear masks in most indoor settings, what’s the big deal? Someone wants to give me the stink-eye, that’s their problem, not mine.

        • Anon

          Dunno, I was at the Art Bash for the SFMOMA and it seemed pretty local to me. I mean maybe Bay Area but same general Covid approach in the region. It wasn’t an out of state conference. OP can do whatever she wants and I wouldn’t and didn’t side eye anyone wearing a mask, I just don’t see the point of going and wearing one. It’s hard to talk, eat, drink, socialize etc while wearing one and if I was concerned about Covid, I’d rather just stay home. It was fun and I accepted the risk of catching Covid there. Good news is I probably didn’t – have tested negative daily ever since.

    • Anonymous

      I think people are but how much probably varies a lot regionally and demographically. I’m in NYC and work for a nonprofit that is planning an in-person Gala in May. But with cases on the rise here for 6 weeks now, we’re not entirely sure how our older crowd will respond. We also have a smaller performance + dinner event this week and have had a couple of cancellations for the dinner part but not the performance, which seems likely related to covid fears (since the dinner is unmasked but the performance is not).

    • Cb

      I am at a conference now (in the UK where rates are super high) and one of the only ones wearing a mask. It seems insane. I’ve just focused on reducing exposure, so I don’t wear a mask when I’m speaking on a panel but will when I’m sitting in the audience. And I skipped the big conference dinner in favour of dinner with one pal. It’s not perfect, but I feel like I need to do some things but not everything.

    • Anon

      I know someone who recently attended a wedding, no one was masked and 75 of the attendees now have Covid. Some are asymptomatic but some are quite sick (not in the hospital but have been bedridden for almost a week)

    • Jolene

      Yes. Most people are doing everything without masks these days, including big crowded events.

    • LaurenB

      Not a work event, but I recently went to a wedding of about 100 people, wedding ceremony itself was outdoors but the reception was indoors. Invitation specifically required people to be vaxxed and that they needed to do a Covid test within (I think) 48 or 72 hours before the wedding. The mother of the bride (my friend) knew that my spouse and I were vaxed / boosted and trusted us to take a Covid test beforehand on the honor system (which we did), but indicated that there were certain people where they were requiring to see the actual proof (vax card and/or the test). It’s a pretty Democratic / liberal / sophisticated crowd, and a few people did wear masks (mostly N95s) which of course was totally cool; we just didn’t. But that was my first such event since the start of Covid.

    • AnonMo

      Blue team in a purple city in a red state. Since my whole office is triple vaxxed and upwards of 70% of us have had COVID at some point already, we have mainly stopped masking for work events. We were quite a cautious bunch earlier on but at this point it seems the risk is quite low. If local hospitalization numbers start increasing we will mask up again.

  3. Boston Anon

    Hi all! Moving to Boston in the next 3-4 months, and looking for recommendations for a ton of things:
    – New OB-GYN (not planning on being pregnant for another 3-4 years, but would like to build a good relationship with one now)
    – New Dermatologist (medical – skin checks)
    – New Botox Person (Derm or Plastic Surgeon Works Here)

    Will be living near Central Square for the first year, but looking to buy a condo near BackBay thereafter – so somewhere around those places, but pretty flexible on location if they’re great!

    Thanks ‘rettes!

    • Anonymous

      Hi! Welcome!
      – OB-GYN: Alison Packard at MGH main campus is great.
      – Dermatologist: Daniela Kroshinsky at MGH main campus I haven’t seen as a doctor but I’ve encountered socially with positive impressions so would go to her as needed.
      – Sorry, no experience with Botox.
      From Central Square, it would be a easy ride on the Red Line T to the MGH station. From Back Bay, Green Line to Red Line or just walk along the Esplanade (a beautiful walk).

  4. Anon

    Has anyone read the real estate listing for the house Fairfax VA where it conveys subject to someone living in the basement without a lease?

    #parasite

        • Anon

          WHY can’t people put the toilet lid down for pics?

          Tell me this: is this a tear down or a decent value proposition? My in-laws are thinking it is not so bad. A water problem to me is OMG so many other problems likely hiding. Yes, we have been all over this since lunch. DMV area.

          • Cat

            Forget the toilet lid, what’s with the army of empty Coke bottles on the Formica?

            This listing reads like an April Fool joke!

          • Anonymous

            yowza. the pictures look like the ones you’d give for insurance claims.

            as parent to a disabled child i wonder if that might be the situation with the conveyance.

        • SC

          My favorite part is “person(s)”. Will one or two or five or six people be living in this basement? Who are these mysterious person(s)?

          • Vicky Austin

            I wondered that too!! What does it MEAN!

            Also “We estimate this home will sell faster than 81% of homes nearby.” Really – even with a literal basement dweller?

          • Anon

            I always lol at the “homes nearby” estimates these days. Such a throwback to the days when there actually were likely to be other homes nearby for sale.

          • anon for this

            A local FB post had someone who claimed to know the situation – that the home was owned by an elderly man who let a woman and her child move in after her husband died of Covid and they lost their apartment. The elderly man has vacated the property (unclear whether he died or was moved to a nursing home) but his family does not want to evict the woman. It sounds sad all around. And someone will swoop in because it’s a (relatively) good deal in that area, but it’s a long road ahead.

          • SC

            Interesting. I appreciate that the family doesn’t want to evict the woman and her child, but by selling the house with no lease in place, they’re all but ensuring that the new owners will do that, with maximum uncertainty and drama on all sides. It seems like a long-term, below-market lease would go a lot further to protect the current occupants/tenants.

          • Anon

            Sounds like a holdover tenant or a squatter, whose basic attitude is that they are judgement proof and have little to lose by drawing out the legal process as long and painfully as possible.

          • Seventh Sister

            A friend of mine bought a house in Vancouver that had existing basement tenants (on a little hill so they had their own entrance). It was not ideal but agreeing to the tenant worked in a super-tough market. The tenants left a few years later.

        • Jolene

          I guess the implication being that you’d have to start eviction proceedings?

          • Anon

            Or y’know, accidentally break the sump pump and the backyard sprinklers on the same day…oops

    • Anonymous

      Inside info from a local – the owner is dying and moved this person in to help provide care. That didn’t happen, and now the kids are trying to sell it.

  5. Lisa

    My boyfriend’s mom is coming to stay with him for three months. I have never met her, but she sounds wonderful and incredibly warm/loving. The last time he went to visit her, she sent back lots of gifts for me and is always saying how happy she is we are together. I am excited to connect with her, but I am also a bit nervous about the length of the stay. My boyfriend wants us to hang out together, but also promised that he will try to make time for at least two date nights for us a week. I am worried though that will be actually harder than he thinking it will be (like leaving her home alone may make us both feel guilty) and that we won’t feel quite as free for that period of time.

    Has anyone been in this type of a situation? Or had any in-laws come to live with you? This is my first real relationship, so I don’t know how to navigate.

    • Anonymous

      I think you just play it totally by ear. And I also think you’re right in assuming that the next 3 months will take on a different flavor than they would if it were just you and him—unless she’s a woman who goes and does things on her own and encourages her son to have his own life that continues on without her even when she’s there, etc. (Though, to be honest, that type of woman might not be the kind that comes to stay with her son for 3 months.)

      I think this is also a great time to back off a little and simply observe the mother/son dynamic that they have going on. If you have a future with him, how she and he handle their relationship is going to matter a lot. This is a really good opportunity to observe it in action.

    • Anon

      I take it you don’t live together, right? Why is she coming for such a long stay, like is there a reason or is it just a visit? I think with a stay that long, most people are going to want alone time.

    • Anon4This

      Hi there! I have tons of experience with this. I’d say, take advantage of the opportunity of getting to know her but just see what the vibe is once you meet. And 100% protect your time with your boyfriend, and let him navigate the stuff with his Mom (e.g. you shouldn’t feel “guilty” quite yet, or maybe ever); just be a empathetic ear. Don’t overpromise to be her friend and spend quality time that you’re not sure you’ll be 100% comfortable with quite yet.

      DH was very close to my MIL when we started dating – all her vacations would be to visit him – and while she was always kind to me, it wasn’t very warm (per what I’m used to OR what you described), and always felt transactional as if she was relying on him, and then us, as her entertainment, including the 1/1 time I spent with her. I kept feeling like something was “off” but kept brushing it off as different families act differently…turns out, nope I was right. This all came to head last year when she stayed with us for a few months under the guise of helping with kids (including a newborn) and…a lot of stuff came to light about her, as she was mopey and felt like we were “too busy” for her. One of the many reasons she felt this way was because we couldn’t entertain her the way she’d gotten accustomed to.

      I should also note my FIL is living with us now (DH’s parents are divorced) for an extended period of time due to some unforeseen stuff, and it has been WONDERFUL. I had never spent a ton of time with him, and it has been great for all parties involved, especially DH who has never had QT like this with his own father. I have had one of my parents (who is local) basically live with us the first year of DD #2’s life, and that was also fantastic.

      • Ellen

        Yes, if you are now sleeping over there regularly with him, I think you will need to make plans to find another place to liase in another bedroom, as most moms are not cool with other women in bed with their little boys, even if they aren’t doing anything s-xueal.

        Grandma Leyeh sure did not like it years ago when she found out Dad was doing more than playing parcheesi with Mom up in his room. She banished mom from her house even though mom honestly had sworn on a stack of bibles that she had not allowed Dad’s hands to roam anywhere under her lambswool sweater.

  6. Christina

    Gorgeous bag but I would recommend not buying from Etsy this week (4/11-4/15)- many shops are on vacation mode to protest the higher fees that are being imposed on creators!

  7. Anonymous

    Lawyers in NYC area – are there any reliable/good headhunters you’d recommend?

  8. Vicky Austin

    My focus is absolutely nil and has been for what feels like a month at this point. Even the things that usually get me back on track are not helping. Anyone have any tips for getting out of a focus funk?

    • Marie

      Commiseration. I’m starting to feel like something in my broke at some point in the last couple of years. I had a lot of motivation, drive, all the things, and now I am just trying to get through the work day. I keep waiting to snap out of it, but it is getting very frustrating.

      • Vicky Austin

        God, same!! I left a super toxic, small-businessy environment for a nice remote position at a much more structured company last fall. I don’t feel like my drive to work ever recovered from the nonsense of the last few months at my old job and I don’t know how to nurture it again. I’ve been blaming it on adjusting to working from home, but I don’t know how true that is.

        • anon101

          Echoing Vicky, far more broadly: I don’t feel like my drive to work ever recovered from the nonsense of the last few years…

      • Anon

        Saaaame! I just can’t get myself to care anymore and am skirting by doing the bare minimum most days. I’ve thought about changing jobs but…nothing else sounds appealing either.

    • Anon

      1. Actual vacation to see friends. It helped enormously.

      2. A screen-free hour every evening.

      • Anon

        +1 to cutting screen-free time. Socials seem to be designed to destroy focus. It takes more effort than I’d like to admit to stay away, but the improvement is worth it. I’d also add that spending more break time outdoors helps, despite the gloomy skies that have not given way to real Spring here. I take an opportunity to get outside as a treat, and come back in with determination to finish things (fake this till you can really make it happen).

  9. Anonymous

    has anyone started bulbs indoors before? are there differences or do they all need some sunlight + minimum watering? trying to plant costco begonias, elephant ears and calla lillies – my research is unclear if elephant ears need sunlight or shade in the starting phase.

    • Anon

      The elephant ears don’t care. You can toss them on top of the dirt and they’ll grow. They’re practically, if not officially invasive in a lot of places.

    • SC

      I would recommend against elephant ears. They grow and spread like crazy, are zombie plants if you try to get rid of them, and their sap causes a painful reaction on many people’s skin.

  10. Anne-on

    Wanted to share a minor victory on behalf of all the other burnt out office workers here. I’m helping to plan an internal learning and development day and I pushed for (and got!) approval to make 4 hours of the day an official block of PTO instead of the other ‘wellness’ sessions we were batting around (yoga/motivational speaker/etc.). So now our attendees can either have a late start, or an early end to your day, along with an company-paid chunk of money to spend for your breakfast/lunch/coffee/drinks. Win!

    • Anon

      You mean past men acting like children? I think it’s going to take a lot longer than 6 years, unfortunately.

    • Anon

      So I read it again. Something sounds off, now as the first time I read it. Like he rhinks he undersrood, but deep down on some lwvel still doesn’t get it (based on some of the language he is using – examples are subtle and too numerous to list). He still makes it sound as if women are “special” and you should put away the dirty dishes because you love their pretty little souls and not because you are a functioning adult.

      An article by the wife – “I divorced my husband because he was an entitled mamchild who turned basic housekeepimg things into a powerplay”, now that I would read.

      • Anon

        I just read it for the first time. It wasn’t what i was expecting having heard others talk about it and i agree the author doesn’t seem to have gained perspective. He’s shifted from “this drinking glass really shouldn’t matter that much to you” to “I secretly know it really shouldn’t matter that much to you, but I’ll patronize you bc now I ~understand~” and they are … equally bad.

  13. Etsy

    My comment is stuck in mod but please note many Etsy sellers are on strike this week. Unfortunate timing for this post.

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