Meet Salim and Marshad, two friends from Kozhikode who transformed their shared vision into building Musketeer, a brand that celebrates the art of handcrafted leather.
Salim, who has spent over a decade working with leather, often challenges himself with exotic materials like shell cordovan while also sketching and testing new patterns almost every day. Marshad, meanwhile, brings a different craft to the table. With an eye for ideas and communication, he works alongside Salim to shape Musketeer’s voice, developing the business, expanding its reach, and handling how the brand is seen on social media.
Together, and without investors or a safety net, they balance full-time jobs while slowly building Musketeer into a label whose products now travel from Kozhikode to Qatar and the UAE. For Salim and Marshad, it’s the beginning of a larger vision; one that blends leather, coffee, and storytelling into something entirely new.
Overview
When Salim first began Musketeer in 2016, it was never with the intention of building a brand that would one day ship leather accessories to customers across the world. “It started because I needed to replace a worn-out bag,” he says. “I wasn’t thinking about a brand, just about making a bag that would last.”
Around the same time, in the same city, Marshad was carving his own path by choosing to be an entrepreneur. He was immersed in a different kind of craft but drawn to the same values of precision and presentation. “Aside from my full-time job, I spent my free hours creating quality content and shared it through my social media. Even with my busy schedule, I kept a consistent routine and spent some time on my true passion,” Marshad says.
The two friends began to have conversations about life, and work began to drift toward Musketeer and the possibility of building it into something more. By 2020, those conversations had shifted from casual exchanges to a shared vision. “When I decided to join Musketeer, it wasn’t just about business,” Marshad says. “I had seen the quality of what Salim was making, but I knew the brand needed a voice and an identity that could carry it further.” Their friendship became a partnership, with Salim continuing to oversee design and production while Marshad took on branding, promotion, and the task of reshaping how Musketeer presented itself to the world.
This small Kozhikode-based leather accessory brand now reaches customers across India and as far away as Qatar and the UAE.
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2017 – The Year Musketeer Began
Salim has always thought of leathercraft as an opportunity to solve a problem. When the bag he used daily wore out after two years, he went looking for a replacement and discovered that most of what was available lacked the durability and feel he wanted. That search led him to leather and to the decision to try making his own bag.
He taught himself to work with what he could find. There were no detailed online tutorials or leathercraft communities he could lean on, so he did what he had done since childhood. He looked at things closely and figured them out. As a boy, he had wanted to play guitar but could not afford one, so he had tried to make one himself. That habit of reverse-engineering objects stayed with him into adulthood, shaping the way he approached each bag or wallet he would go on to create.
Specialised tools, too, were scarce in India and, when they could be found, often cost the equivalent of several months’ savings. Salim began with what he had, teaching himself by studying finished products and figuring out how they had been constructed. When he moved to Qatar, he gained access to leather-crafting tools that helped him create the types of finesse that make Musketeer’s products stand out. And, it was during this time that he started an Instagram page to showcase his products.
2018 – The Year When Learning Turned into Craft
By 2019, he had begun to manufacture some of his designs, although most of his work still happened in solitude during whatever free hours he could carve out from his job. He would source good-quality, authentic leather from Chennai, Kolkata, and Delhi, each known for its leather craftsmanship.
It can take Salim three to six months to finalise a single design, refining proportions, testing durability, and making adjustments until it feels right. Without investors, Musketeer grows at a pace set by the tools Salim can purchase from his own salary each month. It is slow, but deliberate.
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2020 – The Year Marshad Joins as Co-Founder
When Marshad joined in 2020, his first focus was on reshaping how Musketeer was seen. He brought an instinct for presentation and a belief that the company’s identity should reflect its values. Almost immediately, he began pushing for a rebrand because it was the next step to build the brand. The rebranding process was neither quick nor easy. With the new identity came new offerings such as women’s accessories to meet growing demand, and a visual language inspired by coffee and travel, a personal passion for both men.
From those passions emerged a dream they call Coffee with Leather, a concept store they envision opening in Kozhikode by 2026, where customers can browse travel-ready leather goods while sipping expertly brewed coffee. “It’s something we’ve been talking about for years,” Marshad says. “It feels like a natural extension of Musketeer, and we want to make it happen next year.”
The Musketeer Collection
Since moving to Qatar for work, Salim has found that the market there embraces customisation in a way that India’s more price-sensitive market does not. Customers are willing to wait and pay for a bag that is uniquely theirs. In India, such orders are rarer, but Musketeer still takes them on when they come.
At Musketeer, the products are made using high-quality full-grain leather, often crafted from surplus premium-grade hides that would otherwise go unused. For handmade pieces, the brand works with vegetable-tanned leather, a material valued for the way it ages gracefully over time, developing a rich patina that makes every product unique.
Over the years, the Musketeer collection has grown into a wide range of leather accessories that balance durability with timeless design. Prices begin as low as ₹400, with every piece made from first-quality leather. Slim card holders are available for around ₹800, while stitchless wallets range between ₹1,500 and ₹3,500. Larger messenger bags and BB bags fall between ₹2,500 and ₹7,000. For those who travel, duffels and Pandura bags can go upwards of ₹8,000, offering both functionality and understated luxury.
Among their most distinctive offerings is the Matchlock series, crafted from semi-vegetable-tanned leather that has been specially developed for Musketeer. This tan leather is exclusive to the brand, giving the collection a unique signature.
There are also compact Dopp kits, leather-bound journals, and women’s accessories that blend clean design with everyday practicality. Each piece is made to be functional and hard-wearing, with subtle details like edge burnishing, concealed stitching, and a finish that feels soft in the hand yet tough enough to handle years of use.
Corporate Collaborations
Along with individual customers, Musketeer also provides corporate orders for companies looking for thoughtful, long-lasting gifts. “We’ve seen a growing demand from businesses that want something more personal than generic merchandise,” says Marshad. Their handcrafted accessories, from slim card holders and wallets to messenger bags and travel kits, are often chosen for employee recognition, client gifting, and festive occasions. Each piece carries the same level of care and detail as their regular collection, making corporate gifting feel more meaningful.
Why You Should Check Musketeer Out
Today, Musketeer means a lot to its loyal customers. They see it as a brand built on skill, patience, and a promise to never compromise on quality. Every top-grade leather wallet, bag, and accessory shows the combined effort of Salim, who taught himself leathercraft, and Marshad, who knew how to share that story with the world. Together, they have built Musketeer with the belief that good things take time and that telling the right story makes the work even more meaningful.
If you’d like to get your hands on their products, do check out their website.
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