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Crafting Global Luxury from Cape Town's Trading Heritage: The Fieldbar Story
How a South African brand reimagined outdoor elegance, earning coveted spots at Harrods and Fortnum & Mason
Meet Lee Hartman, founder of The Fieldbar Company, whose beautifully designed, handmade luxury cooler boxes have captured the imagination of the world's most prestigious retailers. Drawing inspiration from Cape Town's rich history as a trading post and its legacy of exceptional craftsmanship, Hartman transformed a simple concept into a global luxury brand.
At a recent Stonehage Fleming Future Focus event at the beautiful Taaibosch Wine Estate, Hartman shared how his diverse career path – from Chartered Accountant at Investec to software entrepreneur – shaped Fieldbar's success. "Cape Town's history as a trading post and our skill in making things with our hands led me to focus on creating a premium handmade product," he explains. This vision culminated in products that now grace the shelves of London's iconic Fortnum & Mason, where the Fieldbar x Fortnum's Drinks Box in signature Eau De Nil has become a coveted offering.
The idea sparked 20 years ago at a beach party, where Hartman noticed the disconnect between luxury outdoor living and existing cooler designs. Inspired by heritage brands like Hermès, he positioned Fieldbar within Africa's unique luxury safari legacy – "the first time people went outdoors in a very elegant way."
Every part of Hartman's journey has informed Fieldbar's success. His experience as CFO of an online bank shaped the company's philosophy as a "generous, frugal brand" – generous to customers and employees while maintaining strong profit margins. However, it was his software development background that led to a crucial insight: while Cape Town might lack Silicon Valley's tech ecosystem, it could excel in premium handmade goods that combine heritage with innovation.
"Originality is easy to sell," Hartman notes. "It doesn't need to be groundbreaking; it just needs to be original." This philosophy drove three years of meticulous product development, perfecting everything from the straight-sided design to the painting process. When Fieldbar launched in November 2020, the initial batch sold out immediately.
Today, the company leverages what Hartman calls "the modern triangle" – Instagram for marketing, Shopify for e-commerce, and third-party warehouses for logistics – to operate globally without traditional distribution networks.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, Hartman's advice is clear: "Go deep. Entrepreneurship is about managing uncertainty. If there were an existing market, it would have already been done." He advocates leveraging modern resources like social media and podcasts, describing them as "like attending the best university in the world" for entrepreneurial insights.
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