OUR STATE OF MIND
MOTA is a Romanian brand of men’s handmade accessories, born in 2011 in Bucharest
from the love for leather and metal. Its only purpose is to create authentic
pieces of style which reveal the strong man within.
STORY OF MOTA
“Style is the answer to everything” Charles Bukowksi once wrote brilliantly in a poem which, along with the wise words of other Mota Heroes, has unequivocally contributed to our credo: to craft our products wholeheartedly, to respect the materials, the customer and ourselves. To pay homage to the brave ones who paved & are paving the way – the world belongs to them, to the troublemakers, the defiant ones, the dreamers. “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” – using, if we may, the line in another poem we love – Lord Tennyson’s this time.
So we put to work the poetry that’s close to our hearts, our daring creativity and undivided attention, our passion for craft & menswear, and we make it our aspiration to create beautiful things.
We draw inspiration from the classics, but also from everything around us, our travels, our heritage and sometimes, why not, from mundane moments. We try therefore to build not only for looks, but also for utility and ultimately, to please the soul.
With particular attention to details and to the materials that we use, our MOTA goods are handcrafted in our boutique atelier having timelessness and durability in mind as well as iconic design.
The purpose is the journey itself: from a big piece of leather and a few bolts to the creation of a unique bag or accessory, step by step, with passion, with emotion, with love for what we do. Most of the time while listening to jazz in the background. It is our pride and joy to make leather goods and to see you wear them in your own way and genuinely enjoy them.
We then invite you to discover how we use our aesthetics to create the MOTA vision and turn that into products ranging from our personal take on the classic briefcase, the pouch, to the backpack or our travel bags (+ more to come soon). We also challenge you to create your bespoke item by customizing an existing piece in our collection – we’d be more than happy to accommodate your need or desire – just shoot as an email at bespoke@mota-for-men.com and we’ll get back to you shortly but please, have patience for custom-made bags as they slow down the process of manufacturing and it can take longer to have them ready for you.
We’d like to sum up our introduction the same way we opened it, with another verse from Charles Bukowski: “Style is the difference, a way of doing, a way of being done.” With that, we conclude… It’s great to meet you and please, stay stylish!
THE CREATOR OF THE BRAND
John Mota, is a Romanian born artist who specializes in metal sculpture. Holding a PhD in applied arts and with over twelve years of experience in metal art, John started playing with leather in his own way. He found the resemblance between leather and metal working techniques and decided to apply this to designing handbags with a very manly and sculptural vision. The unique nature of his approach lies in combining these two artistic fields by bringing the powerful influence of metal art into leather craftsmanship. His distinctive creations are true pieces of style featuring custom made metallic details, which may well constitute MOTA’s trademark. In some special cases the future shape of the handbag revolves entirely around its metallic elements …
Among the values that inspire the brand goals, MOTA cares for the originality of its design and demands top quality by combining the best leather handpicked from manufacturers with tradition with the custom design hardware made using both time-honored and new techniques. Brass gets cast into moulds, and after a high precision polish the pieces go through a coating process reaching their final shape. They can be customised according to the future owner’s desire – whether it is 24K gold, silver, nickel or black nickel. Passion driven and devoted experts team up under a single goal: delivering unique creations that reveal a personal way of being.
MOTA HEROES
An evergrowing list of our #MotaHeroes (in no particular order):
Albert Camus Julio Cortázar
Emil Cioran Quincy Jones
Ralph Lauren Oscar Wilde
Ernest Hemingway Vincent Cassel
Constantin Brâncuși Francis Mallmann
Dave Brubeck Nick Fouquet
Marcello Mastroianni Orson Welles
Charles Bukowksi Gigi Rizzi
Henry Worsley Miles Davis
Ralph Waldo Emerson Alain Delon
Steve McQueen Raymond Carver
FRIENDS LIST
We appreciate their commitment to the MOTA brand and their long-standing trust:
Camelia Enache
Iulian Bacain
Luoana Virjoghe
Daniel Movileanu
Teona Rusu
Otilia Flonta
Luminita Sandu