As soon as I opened the box and had the AYA in my hands, I could tell this was not only a beautiful bag, but very well made.  The first thing that hits you after you remove the dust cover is the wonderful real leather smell. The exterior is made from a soft leather that appears like it will be very durable. The AYA comes in several colors (white, black, green), but the one I received is three beautiful shades of pink. The exterior stitching is top quality… straight, with a nice matching color thread. Both sides of the bag are identical, so there is not a front or back.  Tucked behind the handles on both sides are zippered pockets that are a good size for smaller items that you may use more frequently.

The interior of the pink AYA is one of my favorite colors. It’s a satin burgundy color that goes perfectly with the three exterior colors. On one side is a padded laptop pocket that would hold most laptops with screen sizes up to around 15″. I did a quick measurement and the pocket is about 14 x 11 x 2 inches in size. The top of the pocket is secured with a wide velcro flap. On the outside wall of the laptop pocket are two small open top pockets that would be great for change or small items. Opposite the laptop side is a zippered pocket that is about 9 inches wide and 8 inches deep. Next to the laptop compartment there’s plenty of room for all your other stuff such as power cords, a book or two and whatever else you may need during the day.

One of the nicest things about this pink leather laptop bag, it that it doesn’t really look like a laptop bag at all. You could use this bag with or without your laptop. Take it to the office during the day and then take it out a night. Stylish, modern looking and functional! This bag is currently only available on the Mamtak website for just over $200 USD. Mamtak is a company based in Amsterdam, but they ship worldwide. We will hopefully have this bag and other future pink Mamtak bags available on the Rainebrooke website in the near future.

Winner:

Congrats to Carolyn G. @carogonza ! Carolyn’s comment was the winning comment number. Thanks to all those who entered!

Giveaway! (Win this Pink AYA bag)

Would you like to win this AYA bag that we reviewed? Read on and it could be yours.

• Open to US & Canada only
• One winner will be chosen at random from the comments by using Random.org
• Giveaway closes on Monday, Dec. 5th at 11am CST

To Enter:

• Visit Rainebrooke and comment here telling me which is your favorite pink laptop bag.

For Extra Entries:

• Follow @rainebrooke on Twitter
• “Like” Rainebrooke on Facebook
• Follow @mamtakbags on Twitter
• “Like” Mamtak on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway, with this blog title linked back to “Rainebrooke”
• Tweet about this giveaway using this Rainebrooke giveaway tweet (once per day)
• Note: post a new comment for each extra entry method above.

The fine print:

• One bag will be given away. We are giving away the bag we reviewed. While new, is has been handled by us during review. It will be shipped by Rainebrooke, not the manufacturer.
• Giveaway is open to anyone in the US & Canada.
• We will pay for shipping (Ground) within US & Canada. Outside US: any duties and taxes are the responsibility of the recipient.
• We reserve the right to remove comments that we can not confirm from the entry methods above.
• This bag will not have any guarantees or warranties.
• The winner will be notified by the email at the address which they provided with the comment. The winner will have 48 hours to reply to the winning email notification. If we don’t receive a reply within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen.

Check out our 3rd annual, 2011 “Crazy about Pink” holiday gift guide below. You’ll find our top 10 favorite pink items which make great gifts. Do you have a favorite pink product that we didn’t list? Share it below in a comment.

1. ZOMM pink wireless leach. ZOMM is the world’s first Wireless Leash for mobile phones. This award winning product secures mobile phones, provides call notification with full mobile speakerphone functionality, provides a Panic alarm and calls emergency assistance from anywhere in the world with just one press of a button.

2. OtterBox Defender Series for iPad. Drop-proof your magical, new must-have gadget with the OtterBox Defender Series for Apple® iPad™! This cutting-edge case incorporates three layers of hardcore protection plus some advanced features. Available in two pink color combinations.

3. PIIQ™ Premium Headphones (pink and black). Build quality. Cush feel. Supreme sound. Named Marqii™, the PIIQ™ premium headphones have special slider stay power – lock it in to fit your crown.

4. ADATA Nobility Series NH92 2.5” Portable Hard Disk Drive. ADATA presents the ultrathin NH92 Portable Hard Disk Drive. Measuring a mere 12 millimeters and weighing only 152 grams, it’s the slimmest and lightest among all aluminum-cased portable HDDs. Paired with a tailored leather pouch, the NH92 appeals to even the fussiest user, available in three fascinating colors: light silver, cherry pink and ocean blue.

5. Flight Stainless Steel Watch from Fossil. Aviation-inspired design meets feminine detailing with this must-have Flight watch. The case shines in a polished and matte stainless steel with a sparkling top ing and complementary strap.

6. Bloggie Touch Camera. 8GB, Full HD 1080p video, 12.8-megapixel stills, 3.0″ (diag.) touch screen, flip-out USB arm, MP4 video format, works with iMovie®

7. Prada ‘Postcards’ Sunglasses. Retro-glam sunglasses are enhanced by a flirty color-blocked design and feature a raised logo at the temple.

8. Corioliss Pro Pink Flat Iron. The Corioliss Pro series Pink flat iron is ultra slim and maneuverable, and doesn’t rely on looks alone – it features nano-silver treated tourmaline ceramic plates, 1″ for versatility, and the Corioliss reputation the world has come to love.

9. 8v Pink Impact Drill. Pink 8v Impact Drill (gear driven) is lightweight and weighs under 2 lbs.  Features include a bright LED light, rubber-grip handle and cutting-edge lithium-ion battery technology. Compatible with Hex base drill bits. From TomBoy Tools.

10. Pink Laptop Bags & Cases from Rainebrooke. While we love all the pink products above, our favorite pink gift idea for this holiday season is still are pink laptop bags We have a huge selection of pink laptop bags, cases, messengers, leather bags, totes, sleeves and more.

The holiday season is upon us, so we’re going to spread a little holiday cheer with several giveaways over the next month.

First up in the giveaway that started yesterday at Ten 23 Media. This giveaway is for a Allie pink laptop bag. Entry instructions can be found here. Ends 11/15.

Starting today and then again on Nov. 11th and 16th are giveaways being sponsored by Miva Merchant. Miva is the shopping cart system that we use on the Rainebrooke.com website. These giveaways are for an Allie and (2) hot pink Zoey iPad bags. Entry into these giveaways can be done by going to the “Sweepstakes” page on the Miva Facebook page.

On Monday Nov. 14th, the Parenting Tips Blender website will be hosting a giveaway for one of our pink laptop bags. Visit the Parenting Tip Blender Blog on 11/14 for details.

Tuesday Nov. 15th will mark the start of the giveaway we will be doing right here.. on the Rainebrooke blog. Visit our blog on Nov 15th for details on how to enter.

In addition to these giveaways, keep an eye on our Twitter account @rainebrooke. We’ll be tweeting out limited time specials throughout November and December, along with Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

This collection comes in a cherry pink backpack, cherry pink messenger bag and laptop sleeve in three sizes… a 13.3″ for netbooks, 15″ and 17″ for laptops. The cherry hummingbird collection is a stylish cherry hot pink color with a beautiful print of flowers and hummingbirds. Each of these fun and functional pink bags has padding to protect your laptop or netbook, plenty of pockets for all your stuff and shoulder straps to make it easy to carry to school, work or the coffee shop to hang out with friends.

If you’re starting your holiday shopping early, then take a look at these stylish cherry hot pink bags. They make a great gift for friends or family.

Cherry Hummingbird Laptop Messenger Bag

Cherry Hummingbird Laptop Sleeves (13", 15" and 17")

Cherry Hummingbird Laptop Backpack

It’s time to Think Pink and help raise awareness during October (National Breast Cancer Awareness month).

Breast cancer is the leading cancer in women. For those who want to help, the most benefical thing you can do is make a direct donation to an organization that benefits breast cancer research or helps out women and families that are affected by it.

Our personal favorite is Susan G. Komen for the Cure. You can read more about Susan G. Komen for the Cure or donate directly to them.

Other helpful organization are listed below:

• National Breast Cancer Foundation
• National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• BreastCancer.org
• American Cancer Society

While a direct donation is always best, you can also indirectly help by shopping at select stores. When you’re shopping online or at a retail store, keep an eye out for products that benefit breast cancer research, awareness and treatment. Some stores will set aside a portion of each sale during the month of October to donate to an organization. Rainebrooke is one of these online stores. During the month if you’re shopping on our site for pink laptop bags, a portion of your purchase will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

With continued awareness and research, there will one day be a cure.

From time to time we have laptop bags which have very small imperfections. Since they’re not perfect, we hold them to the side and don’t sell them. Now that we have a few boxes of these bags we’re ready to clear them out.

All of these free laptop bags are new, but have minor imperfections such as as loose threads, misaligned stitching, mis-cut padding or trim, or may have a small spot or imperfection on the material. If you don’t care about a minor imperfection, then we would be happy to give you one.

Who can get a free laptop bag…

1. If you place an order for any pink laptop bag on our site, we’ll send you one of these defect bags for free. We will even cover the shipping (within US) for the free bag.

2. Don’t want to place an order? No problem. All we ask is you cover the cost of shipping & handling. The bag is free!

How to get your free laptop bag…

1. (Required) “Like” us on Facebook. Go to Rainebrooke’s Facebook page and click the “Like” button.

2. If you placed an order for another bag on our site (for orders placed after 8/5/2011), email us at customercare@rainebrooke.com. In your email include your name, order#, and which bag below you’re interested in getting for free. If the bag you want is still available, we’ll ship it to you for free (within US).

3. If you didn’t place an order, email us at customercare@rainebrooke.com. In your email include your name, full shipping address, and which bag below you’re interested in getting for free. If the bag you want is still available, we’ll email you the shipping options/costs. Once you pay for shipping & handling, we’ll send you the free bag.

Free Bags Available…

Updated list 9/7/2011 – Below is an updated list of the free blemished bags that we currently have available. Please note that this list is constantly changing. Limit of 2 free bags per person.

• (1) Emily (hot pink) – does not have shoulder strap
• (5) Metro Lite (hot pink)
• (5) Metro Lite (light pink)
• (1) Metro Lite (light blue)
• (5) Slim Line (light pink)
• (4) Slim Line (hot pink)
• (7) Zoey (light pink)
• (3) Zoey (hot pink)

Below are photos of the free bags currently available. There are limited quantities of each, so act fast if you want one. Be sure to check the dimensions of your laptop with the dimensions shown below. There are no shipping refunds. Please note: Each bag has a different type of imperfection… some worse than others. While you can select the type of bag you want, you won’t be able to select the type of defect the bag has.

Zoey iPad Bag (light pink). Fits the iPad and tablets up to 9.56 x 7.47 x .5 inches

Metro Lite - light pink. Fits laptops up to 15 x 11.75 x 2 inches

Metro Lite - hot pink. Fits laptops up to 15 x 11.75 x 2 inches

Metro Lite - light blue. Fits laptops up to 15 x 11.75 x 2 inches

Slim Line - light pink. Fits laptops up to 14.25 x 11.25 x 2 inches

Slim Line - hot pink. Fits laptops up to 14.25 x 11.25 x 2 inches

Slim Line - red. Fits laptops up to 14.25 x 11.25 x 2 inches

CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE... Allie laptop tote. Fits netbook and laptops up to 14.25 x 11 x 2 inches

* Limit of 2 free bags per person.

The laptop messenger bags are available in three sizes. A 11.1 inch version for netbooks and tablets, a 15.6 inch version which can hold both 15.4″ and 15.6″ laptops, and the stylish 17 inch pink laptop messenger bag for the big laptops.

All three messenger bags are made from a durable 900D poly, they’re padded to protect your laptop from bumps and scratches, have plenty of pockets and they’re comfortable to carry with the padded shoulder pad. For those really active mobile travelers, all three pink messenger bags come with a collapsible rain cover to keep everything dry.

11.1" Pink Netbook Messenger Bag

15.6" Pink Laptop Messenger Bag

17" Pink Laptop Backpack

Also available now is the new 17 inch pink laptop backpack. This stylish backpack has a padded compartment which holds most 17 inch laptops and it has plenty of room for all your other stuff. The back panel is strong with extra thick padding and padded shoulder pads which make it really comfortable to carry.

17" Pink Laptop Backpack

The Allie is normally priced at $59, but as a featured bag you can get it on sale for $45. As an extra special you can get free *shipping with coupon code: ALLIE

Get in on this special today!

* Ground shipping. Offer expires 7/31/11

Allie Pink Laptop Tote

Allie Pink Laptop Bag

Shama Kabani is CEO of Dallas-based The Marketing Zen Group and author of the best-selling book, The Zen of Social Media Marketing.