Joe and Eva Saunders of Maine had their first glimpse of Christian Jonak’s work during a morning walk past a shop window in Austria in the 1990s. The shop had not yet opened for the day but the Saunders, captivated by the several innovatively designed handbags on display, returned later the same day to inquire about the designs and the designer.

An introduction to Jonak was arranged.

Jonak, newly graduated from university, had created the handbags incorporating traditional elements of Austrian design — in aluminum.

For Eva, Austrian born, and for Joe, owner of a well established company that manufactured a line of aluminum clipboards, Jonak’s work was a natural draw. The three quickly established a comfortable rapport.

The Saunders offered Jonak residence in a lakeside guest cottage on their Maine estate and a commission to design a line of handbags and briefcases. Jonak accepted.

The designs were conceptualized in the lakeside cottage on Maranacook Lake in Maine. The corrugated and gridded materials — in aluminum and rubber — were manufactured and imported from Austria. The line of handbags and briefcases were finalized, utilizing Jonak's designs, at Saunders Manufacturing, the Readfield, Maine company first established by Joe Saunders and his parents in 1947.

Unfortunately, the bags were never actively marketed. It seems that while the Saunders were extraordinarily successful in creating and marketing clipboards, they seemed to have less of an idea on how to promote fashion accessories. A few trickled out — primarily as occasional fund raising donations to a museum auction. But for the most part, the bulk of the inventory was stashed away in storage.

The Envelope Briefs -- in Black or Silver
These sleekly designed aluminum briefcases are fashioned in a grid pattern reminiscent of Austrian architect and designer Josef Hoffmann. The cases, reinforced with clear inserts, are 16 inches wide, 9 1/4 inches deep and open to an approximate 3 1/2-inch breadth, with black ribbed rubber inset side panels. The semi-triangular black ribbed rubber enclosure has an industrial grade snap attachment at the lower right corner. Lightweight with a sleek design -- slightly thinner at the top -- the case tucks comfortably and neatly under one’s arm. The briefcases come in either silver or black aluminum.
Silver #95980, Black #95910

Austrian designed and manufactured in limited numbers in the US from materials imported from Austria.