MacBook NEO Cases in Leather & Wool Felt
Frequently Asked Questions
No, and that is a deliberate decision. We make sleeves and bags. A clipped-on shell stays on the device permanently, scratches the aluminium at the clip points and does not protect the edges.
With the HAMPSHIRE yes, it has a charging cable cutout. With ANGUS and SUFFOLK you take the device out to charge it.
It is firm, and that is intended. A sleeve in which the laptop has room lets it knock against the seam at every jolt. After a few weeks the felt settles against the edges and the sleeve runs more easily.
Leather if you carry the MacBook NEO without a backpack, under your arm or in an open tote. Wool felt if it travels in a padded laptop compartment anyway and the sleeve is mainly scratch protection. The HAMPSHIRE is the middle road.
ANGUS and HAMPSHIRE come in a fine rigid box with a lift-off lid and a silver ribbon across it. We emboss the silver logo onto the lid ourselves, with heat and pressure. The ANGUS also includes an organic cotton dust bag.
In our own workshop in Hamburg, Germany. Splitting, skiving, cutting, sewing, embossing and final inspection all happen here, and have done since 2011. The leather comes vegetable-tanned from Italy, and the Merino wool felt is mulesing-free.
No, and this matters. A laptop sheds its heat through the housing and the vents. In a snug sleeve of felt and leather that heat builds up. To work, the device comes out. Even when charging through the HAMPSHIRE's charging cable cutout, the lid should be closed and the device asleep.
The SUFFOLK is a pure slip-in sleeve of two layers of Merino wool felt, with no closure, no pockets and no cutouts. The HAMPSHIRE adds leather on the edges and the flap, magnetic buttons as a closure, a front pocket, an inner pocket and a charging cable cutout. The SUFFOLK is flatter, the HAMPSHIRE does more.
Not when dry. Vegetable-tanned leather can give off a trace when it is wet and then rubs against pale fabric. If the sleeve has been out in the rain, do not leave it to dry on light-coloured upholstery. This eases off after the first few weeks.
The honest answer: it depends on how you use it. What ages first is not the seam but the surface, on leather as patina, on wool felt as a slight roughening at the opening. Neither is a defect, both are use. Because we make to device classes rather than model names, a sleeve usually outlives the device it was bought for.
Because we work with two natural materials that will not take just any colour. Vegetable-tanned leather can be dyed in dark and light browns and in black without coating the surface. We carry wool felt in greys and anthracite. Bright colours would either require a coating or fade after a short time.
Write to us with a photo. We sew in Hamburg ourselves, so we can look at a seam and tell you what can be done. And if a sleeve does not fit when you unpack it, the 30-day right of return applies.
With ANGUS, HAMPSHIRE and SUFFOLK, the variant “MacBook NEO/Pro/Air 13”. The NEO is named literally in the selector. For the CORRIEDALE bag you take size M (Bis 14"), because that bag is graded by inches.
Yes. Stickers and thin protective skins add almost no thickness, and the tolerance absorbs that. A clipped-on hardshell case does not fit, our sleeves are cut too tightly for it.
No. The front pocket on ANGUS and HAMPSHIRE takes a cable, a pen, notes, a USB stick or a card. A power adapter bulges the pocket and presses against the lid from the outside. If the adapter and a mouse have to travel too, the CORRIEDALE in size M is the right choice.
No. The YKK zip is set in so that it has no contact with the device while you open or close it. That is where many laptop sleeves fail, which is why for us it is a construction detail and not an afterthought.
Within the same size class, yes. The variant “MacBook NEO/Pro/Air 13” covers the 13-inch class. If you move to a 14 or 15 inch device you need the matching size. If you are unsure, send us your model.
As little as possible. Remove dust with a dry cloth, dab rather than rub if it gets wet, and let it dry at room temperature. Leather balms darken vegetable-tanned leather strongly, so when in doubt apply nothing.
No. The magnets sit in the flap and in the rim, not on the surface that rests against the lid. Modern MacBooks store data on flash memory, which magnets like these do not affect. Credit and hotel cards are far enough away too, only prolonged direct contact would be a concern.
Because of the material and the work. For the ANGUS we buy whole cowhides, split them to the thickness we need and skive every edge so the seam stays flat. Scars and thin areas end up as waste. The SUFFOLK is made from two layers of wool felt roll, which can be cut with almost no loss.
No, and we do not claim it is. Leather and wool felt take a rain shower on the way to the train and dry again, but they are not a barrier. For real rain protection the sleeve belongs inside a backpack.
When dry, Merino wool felt smells neutral. When it gets wet it briefly takes on the typical wool smell, which disappears as it dries. It is not scratchy, Merino fibres are fine, which is why they sit directly against the lid of the device.
Sometimes yes. What matters is not the manufacturer but the format: if your device is roughly the height, width and thickness of a 13-inch MacBook, the size fits. Since many Windows machines are built thicker, the safe route is a short message with the model name. For iPads we have separate patterns that fit better.
The leather will be distinctly darker than on day one, glossy along the edges and a little softer where your hand grips it. The wool felt will look almost unchanged, at most slightly roughened at the opening. If you want a surface that stays exactly as it was when unpacked, natural materials are the wrong choice.
MacBook NEO case: hardshell or sleeve?
With laptops there are two schools of protection, and they do very different things. A hardshell case clips onto the lid and the base from the outside and stays there. A sleeve is a tailored cover that the closed MacBook NEO slides into while you carry it, and comes out of again when you want to work.
We make sleeves and bags, not hardshell cases. That is a decision, not a gap. A clipped-on plastic shell sits permanently between the heat sink and the air, it scratches the aluminium at the clip points, and against what actually happens to a laptop in a backpack it barely helps. The table below puts both approaches side by side.
| Hardshell case (not our range) | Sleeve: ANGUS, HAMPSHIRE, SUFFOLK | |
|---|---|---|
| Principle | Clips onto the housing | The closed MacBook NEO slides in |
| Material | Polycarbonate, usually glossy | Merino wool felt and vegetable-tanned cowhide leather |
| While you work | Always on the device, always visible | Lies beside it, the device stays as Apple built it |
| In a backpack | Covers lid and base, not the edges | Wraps all six sides, cushioned |
| Pressure on the lid | No extra buffer | 3 mm of felt between the lid and whatever presses on it |
| Over the years | Goes brittle, yellows, jams itself on | Felt and leather soften and adapt |
| Who it is for | People who want a colour on the lid | People who carry the device and do not want it scratched |
How it fits: leather and wool felt on video
Two short clips: the ANGUS in full leather with a zip, and the SUFFOLK in pure Merino wool felt. Both come in the size that holds the MacBook NEO.
Leather sleeve for the MacBook NEO: ANGUS
The ANGUS is our full-leather sleeve. Vegetable-tanned cowhide leather from Italy on the outside, just under 2 mm thick, Merino wool felt inside. It closes with a satin-silver YKK zip, and that zip is set in so that it never touches the housing while you open or close it. This is where most laptop sleeves fail: the slider runs across the lid and leaves exactly the scratches you bought the sleeve to prevent.
A flat pocket at the front takes a cable, a pen and some notes. Inside there is a business card slot. A dust bag in 100 percent organic cotton is included, which protects the sleeve itself when it spends a while in a cupboard. The ANGUS comes in dark brown, light brown and black.
If you move your MacBook NEO between two places every day and carry only the laptop rather than a second bag, the ANGUS is the one. It is the toughest sleeve in this selection and the only one that closes completely.
HAMPSHIRE: wool felt outside, leather on the edges
The HAMPSHIRE combines both materials. The body is 100 percent Merino wool felt, and the edges that take the wear, along with the flap, carry vegetable-tanned leather. It closes with ultra-flat magnetic buttons instead of a zip. That makes it faster in daily use: lift the flap, pull the MacBook NEO out, done.
There is a front pocket for a cable and small items, and a further pocket inside. On top of that comes a charging cable cutout, so you can charge the MacBook NEO while it is still in the sleeve. It sounds like a small thing, and in a hotel room or on a train it is the reason the device stays protected instead of lying open on a folding table.
There are four colour combinations: dark grey-dark brown, dark grey-black, light grey-black and light grey-light brown.
SUFFOLK: the plainest MacBook NEO sleeve
The SUFFOLK is a pure slip-in sleeve made of two layers of 3 mm Merino wool felt. No cutouts, no closures, no front pocket, no zip. It does exactly one thing: it keeps the MacBook NEO clean and cushioned while it travels.
That is precisely why it is the flattest sleeve in this selection. If you carry your MacBook NEO in a backpack that already has a laptop compartment, and you are only looking for the last layer between the aluminium and a zip, the SUFFOLK is all you need. It comes in dark grey-light brown and light grey-light brown.
CORRIEDALE: when something has to travel besides the MacBook NEO
The CORRIEDALE is not a sleeve but a bag, and it is on this page because for many people it is the more honest answer. From the outside it looks as flat as a sleeve, but the side panels are folded and open up as soon as you fill it. Inside there are three pockets for cables, a mouse and small items, plus a slot for a pen or an Apple Pencil.
The body is double-layered Merino wool felt, and the closures at the front are magnetic, holding the flap shut without bringing metal near the device. For a MacBook NEO you choose size M (Bis 14"). It comes in light grey-light brown and dark grey-dark brown.
| Model | Material | Closure | Features | Colours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUFFOLK | Merino wool felt, two layers of 3 mm | open, slip-in | deliberately none | Dark grey-light brown, light grey-light brown |
| HAMPSHIRE | Merino wool felt with leather | flat magnetic buttons | Front pocket, inner pocket, charging cable cutout | four combinations |
| ANGUS | Full leather with Merino wool felt | YKK zip | Front pocket, card slot, dust bag | Dark brown, light brown, black |
| CORRIEDALE | Double wool felt, with leather | magnetic closures | three inner pockets, pen slot, folding sides | Light grey-light brown, dark grey-dark brown |
Which size to select for the MacBook NEO
We do not cut to model names but to size classes. The MacBook NEO sits in the 13-inch class, together with the MacBook Pro 13 and the MacBook Air 13. That is why the size is named literally in the variant list.
| Model | The variant you select |
|---|---|
| ANGUS | MacBook NEO/Pro/Air 13 |
| HAMPSHIRE | MacBook NEO/Pro/Air 13 |
| SUFFOLK | MacBook NEO/Pro/Air 13 |
| CORRIEDALE | M (Bis 14") |
With ANGUS, HAMPSHIRE and SUFFOLK the word NEO is right there in the selector, so there is nothing to convert. Only for the CORRIEDALE do you pick size M, because that bag is graded by inches rather than by device name.
Why a sleeve has to be cut tightly
A laptop sleeve in which the device has room to move is more dangerous than no sleeve at all. As soon as the MacBook NEO can slide around inside, every jolt turns into a small impact against the seam. So we cut tightly, with a tolerance of a few millimetres, and that is why a new sleeve feels firm for the first few days.
That tolerance is the real reason we sell by device class rather than by “fits 13 to 14 inch”. Universal sleeves have to be cut generously, otherwise they fit nowhere. A tailored sleeve is allowed to be tight because it only has to serve one class. After a few weeks the felt settles against the edges of the device and the sleeve runs noticeably more easily.
Leather or wool felt for a laptop
With a phone the question is a matter of taste. With a laptop it depends more on how you carry it.
Leather absorbs abrasion without wearing through. If you carry the MacBook NEO without a backpack, under your arm, in the car, on the passenger seat, in an open tote, take leather. It darkens over the years and picks up a sheen along the edges. That is patina, not wear.
Merino wool felt cushions better and is considerably lighter. If the device travels in a padded backpack anyway and the sleeve is mainly there as scratch protection and a second layer, felt is the better and cheaper choice. In dark grey, felt picks up pale lint. A clothes brush solves that in seconds.
The HAMPSHIRE is the middle road: felt where cushioning is needed, leather where rubbing happens.
What actually fits in the front pocket
Front pockets on laptop sleeves are routinely oversold, so here it is soberly: the front pocket on the ANGUS and the HAMPSHIRE takes a coiled cable, a pen, a notepad, a USB stick, a card. Not a power adapter. A power adapter would bulge the pocket and press the MacBook NEO inside against the lid, and that is exactly what we do not want.
If the power adapter, a mouse and adapters have to travel too, the CORRIEDALE is the right choice. It is built for that, its side panels fold open, and it keeps a flat line as long as you do not overload it completely.
Sleeve on its own, or sleeve inside a bag
Both are common, and both work. If you use a backpack with a laptop compartment anyway, take the SUFFOLK or the HAMPSHIRE and slide it into that compartment with the MacBook NEO inside. The sleeve is then the last layer that stops a zip or a charger in the same compartment from scoring the aluminium.
If you do not want a second bag, take the ANGUS and carry it as it is. The zip makes it the only sleeve in this selection that you can carry on its own without a second thought, because nothing can fall out.
How the leather ages
Vegetable-tanned cowhide leather is uncoated. It has no plastic film on the surface that eventually flakes off, it is the same material all the way through. That comes at a price: it takes on whatever happens. Sun darkens it, so does the sweat of your hands, and a drop of water can leave a ring that disappears again after a few weeks.
After two years an ANGUS looks distinctly different from day one, and after five years it looks better than any new one. If you want a surface that always stays the same, choose wool felt. It barely changes in appearance.
Care and packaging
Leather needs as little as possible. Remove dust with a dry, soft cloth. If it gets wet, dab it, do not rub, and let it dry at room temperature, not on a radiator and not in the sun. Greases and leather balms darken vegetable-tanned leather strongly, so when in doubt use nothing at all.
Shake out the wool felt and brush it with a soft clothes brush. Dab out stains with clear water, without rubbing. Never put it in the washing machine, wool keeps felting there and shrinks.
ANGUS and HAMPSHIRE come in a fine rigid box with a lift-off lid and a silver ribbon across it. We emboss the silver logo onto the lid ourselves, with heat and pressure. The ANGUS also comes with the organic cotton dust bag.
From the raw hide to the last stitch
Splitting, skiving, cutting, sewing, embossing, hardware and final inspection all happen in our own workshop in Hamburg, Germany, and have done since 2011.
A laptop sleeve may only have a few millimetres of air. You cannot buy that tolerance, it comes from the cut, and it is the reason we make to device classes rather than to inch ranges.
SEE OUR WORKSHOP AND OUR STORY →One sentence to the right sleeve
Four models, six situations. Find the sentence that applies to you.
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Designed for Apple
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