In the hot summer of 2010, I dove headlong into a passion project with a modest $1100 in pocket change. This was when Pad & Quill, a brand synonym of luxury and craftsmanship, was born; its first website was built with equal parts ambition and the sweat from painting a web designer's deck. The vision? To celebrate artisans and pursue beauty in everything we create. Our offerings of fine leather goods found favor among a thriving community of hundreds of thousands of customers, far exceeding my initial imaginings over the following nine years.
However, as with all life's most incredible journeys, the road took an unexpected sharp turn in 2019. A daunting personal and financial storm swept through my life, casting unwelcome shadows over my ability to steer Pad & Quill--both from the helm of designing and managing finances—a crisis exacerbated by the advent of the global pandemic in 2020. Tragically, like a ship swallowed whole by an unforgiving sea, Pad & Quill succumbed. Despite fighting the tide for four long years, in the bleak winter of 2023, Pad & Quill was claimed by bankruptcy, its voyage meeting a heartbreaking end.
Yet, from the ruins, springs a blossom of hope, and that is Burton Goods. The hardships of the past four years couldn't smother my love for designing and crafting leather goods or for you, the patrons who bring purpose to my passion.
I must, however, address the elephant in the room: the warranties previously given under Pad & Quill. While my current financial state disallows the ability of honoring them, your concerns are not dismissed. Please feel encouraged to reach out to Hi@burtongoods. Wherever a solution can be offered, we will try.
Finally, I must tilt my hat to each and every Pad & Quill customer over the past 14 years. Your patronage, your unswerving support for a small Minnesota family business, your dedication to the artisans behind the wonders you welcomed into your homes – you have my deepest, heartfelt gratitude.
With renewed spirit,
Brian Holmes
17 comments
So glad to see this “sail” still has wind blowing behind it… all the amazing customers like myself who simply love your products, and all the artisans behind them!
~EH
Love, Love your IPad covers
Noticed though, that the new one don’t have the sweetest orange threads on the one corner. So sad
Placing an order in the near future, gonna miss that bit of colour
I’m pleased that you were able to start a new company; but I miss the simplicity and book-like appearance of the Cartella case. I wish you had a comparable product for the MacBook Air.
Do you have any plans to resurrect that look? There’s plenty of competition in the “leather MacBook protection” space, but almost none in the “make your MacBook look like a book” space.
Not previously a PQ customer or current Burton customer, but I will be now. I’ve been trying to decide which case and from who because I want a good one and one that consideration for long term use a factor. I’ll be placing my order soon and if it pans out like I think it will, then I will be referring others to Burton. Sorry about your past issues and good luck with you current endeavor.
Rick
(rmintonprimeinc.com is work e-mail and yahoo is my personal e-mail)
It’s strange when a favorite internet entity disappears without much or any warning. I’m happy to be notified of your proverbial Phonix rising from the ashes.
In 2013, while searching for a good functional cover for my husband’s new iPhone, I came across P&Q. But his heart was failing. Soon, he needed a heart transplant. It became important to me to find the cover he described. My search was successful when I saw a cover that matched his wishes. It gave him great joy, long and dependable use. (He subsequently was successfully transplanted, but five years later, he passed suddenly from an unrelated massive pulmonary embolism.)