From Our Hands To Yours

All too often, we see, hear, and consume marketing hype around a product's quality, durability, environmental impacts, and manufacturing process. In a world of fast fashion, mass production, and questionable marketing truths, it’s hard to know who or what to trust. However, from time to time, we come across a brand or product that, upon closer inspection, speaks the truth. I’m a massive fan of the push for ‘buy-local’ and a big supporter of anything Australian Made! I’ve worked alongside Lucky Camera Straps for many years and recently made the pilgrimage to Lucky HQ in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. I was well overdue for a visit to the rural region and to catch up with Justin, Jim, and Yelana from the Lucky Camera Straps team. I witnessed and documented the end-to-end process of a Lucky Straps leather camera strap from the moment it’s cut from the hide to the point where it’s on its way to your door. I wanted to share that hands-on process with our Lucky Camera Straps readers to showcase the love, care, and attention to detail that goes into every leather camera strap.

Orders Up!

When you jump online to order a Lucky Camera Strap, you’re prompted to select a range of options, including the leather strap style, colour, length, and personalisation. Once you’ve hit Add To Cart and completed the checkout process, that order flies via the interwebs directly to Lucky Straps HQ in Bendigo, Victoria. Justin, Jim, and Yelana are on hand to receive your order and commence the many steps to get your straps out to you as fast as possible. I can’t emphasise enough just how hands-on the fulfilment process is. With the daily orders printed out, the team selects the exact leather camera straps from the racks of available stock. They then complete a full quality check of the leather to look for any deep marks or flaws in the surface. I also noticed they checked the webbing and all stitching before proceeding to the next stage. 

Customise To Your Hearts Content

One of the best features of any Lucky Straps leather camera strap is the ability to add your personalised touch. Lucky Straps HQ has its own in-house leather embossing machine. It applies heat and pressure to precisely emboss your name, initials, or favourite short quote into the leather. You can also add colour foil to the embossing to make your personalised strap pop. Once again, the Lucky Straps team carefully aligns the chosen leather strap with the embossing machine. The lettering stamps are placed to match your order, the foil is aligned, and the press is pulled down by hand once it has reached optimal temperature. The end result is a perfectly embossed and foil-filled personalised statement piece. It isn’t a rushed process or one that the team takes lightly. The attention to detail is evident.

Hands-On Order Fulfilment

Once the embossing process is complete, each strap is again carefully checked for any threads or marks. The finished strap is checked against the order, and the Anti-Theft Quick Release hardware is added to each end of the abrasion-resistant Dyneema® Webbing. The strap is then carefully rolled and dropped into a cotton drawstring bag. A cardboard box is chosen for the strap or straps if there’s more than one in the order. Inside the box, the strap, Lucky Straps sticker, and a little welcome note are added along with an Australian Made tag - more on that in a minute. A postage label is printed, checked, and immediately stuck to the local or international shipping bag. The Lucky Camera Straps order is now ready for shipping. 

Aussie Made

As part of the fulfilment process and the Lucky Straps promise, each strap is fitted with a small Australian Made logo tag. The Australian Made campaign has existed for over 35 years to certify and promote a sense of pride, trust, and Australian business success. The campaign supports Australian Made and Australian Grown goods and services. The logo inspires consumer confidence and builds brand trust. It also aligns with the core business values of Lucky Camera Straps and the team behind the brand. 

Factory Tour

During my time in Bendigo, I was lucky enough to visit the local factory where premium leather stock is cut, sewn, and prepared for Lucky Straps. I was amazed at the unique and specialised machinery and tools used to grade, prepare, cut, and sew each strap. It’s important to emphasise that each stage in the process is completed by hand - no robotics or conveyor belts are involved here. In fact, many of the leather processing machines are decades old but are the backbone of the process. The manufacturing team carefully selects each leather hide and quality checks it for scars and imperfections. They mark and stamp each strap to use as much of the leather hide as possible. The factory also handles larger embossing jobs for customers who want a logo embossed onto their Lucky Camera Strap. I had my Deluxe Wrist Strap embossed with The Camera Life logo - the name of our YouTube podcast hosted by Jim, Justin, and myself.

The Final Touch

I had a blast hanging out with Justin, Jim, and Yelana at Lucky Straps HQ in Bendigo. What’s more, witnessing the end-to-end fulfilment process of leather camera strap orders was fascinating. Each Lucky Straps leather camera strap is given a level of personalised care that’s rare, especially in the days of fast, cheap production lines and monolithic fulfilment centres. Every strap is handcrafted and passes through many pairs of hands to ensure a specialist in that craft completes each. The whole process is overlooked by Lucky Straps founder Justin, who takes immense pride in the quality of each product he sends you. What’s more, the team is dedicated to the task at hand and is constantly looking for ways to improve the process and refine the design of the Lucky Camera Straps range. Oh, and all customer service inquiries are handled by the Bendigo team - not by an outsourced service. Every Lucky Camera Strap passes from our hands to yours.