In 1898, SIMPLE founder Paul Morszeck opens his first workshop in Cologne’s Bechergasse 16 near the Cathedral. What began as a saddlery company expands to craft custom suitcases for travelling professionals made of leather-coated plywood and cardboard. With a growing cosmopolitan clientele, Paul Morszeck develops beyond trunks and suitcases. The workshop begins to specialise in smaller and more durable boxes and cases to suit their evolving lifestyles.