Our Story

Veske is a bag and accessories brand with quality, design and heritage at the core. We hand manufacture, well designed, functional products all under one roof in our workshop in North East Scotland.

Heritage

Veske is a creative venture and sub brand of our parent company Montrose Rope and Sail Company Ltd. Based in the coastal town of Montrose on the North East Coast of Scotland, we've hand manufactured and designed functional products that are build to last since 1789.

Our parent company originally hand manufactured ropes and hand sewn sails for the Scottish fishing fleet. We've always been based next to the sea and have a passion for quality craftsmanship. Our skills and expertise have been passed down the generations of the Paton family, who still own the company today.

There are 20 members of staff employed across the company, who are all trained in house and have a well established reputation of reliability and quality, ensuring the highest care and attention to detail in our products.

Our History

1789
1890
1920
1940
1970
1980
1990
2009
2017
2018
2019
2020

1789

First established in 1789, we hand manufactured rope and hand sewn sails for the local fishing industry.

1890's

The company first enters into the Paton family as James Paton becomes one of the 4 company partners. The Company continue to hand manufacture and traditional rope making and sewing skills are passed down through the generations.

1920's

James Paton becomes the sole owner of Montrose Rope and Sail Co ltd and his two sons join the business.

1940's

Rope making ceased as it became too expensive to hand manufacture rope and cheaper to buy. The company made products such as lorry side covers made from canvas which was also produced locally.

1970's

Saw the movement from locally produced canvas materials to newer materials like PVC, which was an adaption as different industries changed their needs.

The company were noted as “a company who have survived many significant industrial changes and two world wars as they adapt their output to changing needs.” Mary Chalmers, 1970.

1980's

The company grew into the oil and gas and bag market.
Neil Paton, the current company managing director, was asked by a friend if he could make a bag suitable for going offshore using the strong, waterproof materials that the company had become renowned for using on their covers. This is when the bag side of the business grew.

1990's

Saw the introduction of new equipment, primarily the addition of our first cutting table, which was used alongside traditional hand manufacturing processes.

2009

The company outgrew the original premises and moved to a new purpose built facility allowing the company to undertake new work and introduce new equipment, including another cutting table.

The original facility, which still belongs to the Paton family, is the only complete rope-walk building left in Scotland.

2017

The Company recognise an opportunity to expand into other markets utilising their long established heritage, reputation for quality and top customer service. They work with a contact at Grays School of Art, Robert Gordon University to secure a Knowledge Transfer Project to develop themselves into new markets, extend skills and knowledge of existing staff and create new jobs.

2018

The creation and development of Veske gets underway. We employ an experienced designer with a fashion and textiles background to establish this new side of the business for us.

We visit tradeshows internationally in Paris, Germany and Copenhagen as well as those closer to us in the UK to source the best materials and components for our new range.

Work gets underway internally to design and develop the new range in house.

2019

Our parent company celebrates their 230th year in business, after first being established in 1789.

We continue to use our company heritage to influence our new range and first showcase it to the public domain as part of a soft launch strategy, with the plan to fully launch in Spring, 2020.

2020

Gearing up for launch in Spring 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and we decided to delay the launch of Veske until a later date. Little did we know that we would be closed for a number of months.

Due to our manufacturing workshop having to close and travel being restricted, our priority was to keep our staff, their families and local community safe.

People, Craftsmanship, Quality

With industry experience dating back to 1789, every member of our manufacturing team have been trained in-house with the skills and expertise passed down throughout generations of the Paton family.

Using a mix of new innovative technology and traditional hand manufacturing techniques, the Veske collections are created by hand, with quality and functionality at the core.

Paying close attention to detail, members of our manufacturing team perform every process with pride and ultimate care to ensure the highest quality.

Sustainability & Design

Values passed down from our parent company are that we create products that are built to last. We have carried this ethos on into Veske so that we design and manufacture our products that have a focus on functional, minimal design that are season-less. We also manufacture our products in-house as limited production runs to ensure exclusivity and avoid waste in over making.

As a result of this our delivery times can be longer, but it means we can limit our environmental impact.

As we design, develop and manufacture everything in our workshop in Scotland, we aim to continuously cut down our environmental impact during the design and development stages, as well as sourcing the best quality materials and hardware as much as we can from within the UK and Europe.