In a Small Rhode Island Factory, The Designer of Lindquist Is Championing American Luxury

Lindy McDonough started her brand, Lindquist (the full version of her Swedish middle name), with a rule about glue. It had to be high quality, holding together the layers of her unique bags, but also free of VOC—a toxic compound used by most leather bag brands—and all other toxins. The rule was a non-starter because it’s both a nexus and metaphor for the brand’s ethos.

In 2020, McDonough started Lindquist with her husband, Conor MacKean, a mechanical engineer, and Kate Gronner, head of production, in a small factory in Providence, Rhode Island. “We had dreams—we still have big dreams—about what we wanted to do, but we wanted to do it the right way,” she tells Vogue. The right way meant ethically handmade bags created by a team that earns competitive wages, with full healthcare and benefits. It also means no toxic dyes, no waste, and only high-quality, vegetable-tanned leather. “[We thought] if we make a beautiful thing and treat people well, it will work,” she says of the beginning stages.