Way back in May I noticed some wonderful looking cases by a Dutch company called Mujjo. Mostly known for their series of touchscreen-friendly gloves, Mujjo was branching out into clothing iPhones and MacBooks in leather and felt and I knew I had to get my hands on some to check them out.
Thankfully, Mujjo were kind enough to get some out to us and I can tell you that they’re just as gorgeous in person. The 11″ MacBook Air case is the one I’m going over today, but Mujjo also makes versions of it for the 13″ MacBoo Pro and Air and the 15″ Retina MacBook Pro. All of them are €59.95, aside from the Retina, which runs €10.00 more. Each of the cases comes in white or brown leather, and is accompanied by grey or dark grey felt, respectively.
At first glance, the case is extremely handsome, with a well trimmed and dyed piece of leather capping it, and a bold circular fastener. The ‘Originals’ logo is mercifully faint, as it’s stamped but not dyed separately. I don’t mind subtle branding, but I’d rather not be a billboard for brands any more than I already am. Insert joke about Apple logo here.
The leather is dyed along the outside edge of the flap, which is a nice touch as it gives it a more finished look. A lot of case makers only dye the front face of leather pieces, causing it to have an unfinished look. Having a bullnosed and died edge along the bottom of the flap might not seem to be a big deal, but it’s indicative of the quality of contstruction shown throughout.
The edges of the case are stitched together solidly, with three layers, one dividing layer forming the pocket and a front and back sheet. The edges of the felt are also finished and not left ‘open’ this should help to mitigate the fraying that felt stuff tends to be susceptible to.
Two eyelets at the corners of the case offer a nice visual touch and likely add some structural security at stress points. Since you’re going to be pushing your laptop into the case over and over, these punch-points will help prevent the corner stitching from separation.
The center pocket is enough for a slim notebook and pen, or a thin sheaf of papers, but as tight as the fit is, you’re not going to be fitting much in there.
The clasp provides a satisfying ‘click’ and seems to offer little danger of it popping open. The first few times you clasp it, you’re going to feel a solid bit of resistance, but it settles down into a more comfortable amount of pressure after a bit. On first clasp I was a bit concerned about the amount of pressure I had to exert on the MacBook inside the case to close it, but now it’s nothing to worry about.
The MacBook inserts tip-down, with the hinge facing up, there is no option to do it the other way around. The first insertion will be very tight, and I’d suggest shoving it in there and leaving it for a couple of days if you can, to help form the case to the laptop. Once it has taken on the shape a bit and stretched out, slipping it in and out isn’t nearly as much effort. Clasping it closed becomes easier as well, as you don’t have to pull the leather flap down as hard.
The rear stitching on the flap is doubled up, which is good, because it’s a fairly tight fit even after the wer-in phase, so it’s going to get some stress. The one issue I have with the cover flap is that it leaves the corners open. This invites dust or stray moisture to creep in at the corners, and could even provide ‘ding’ opportunities. Making the flap longer might have still left holes at the edges, but it would have at least covered the corners more for impact protection.
Even with the corner-exposure, the Mujjo MacBook Air case is an elegant, well crafted and nicely detailed effort. The materials are top notch, with supple, well dyed leather and soft but not ‘frizzy’ felt. The package it presents when tucked under the arm or slipped into a briefcase is attractive and slim. If you’re interested in something other than the standard nylon, neoprene or hard-shell cases for your MacBook, the Mujjo line won’t leave you disappointed.
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