Women’s handbags have become the mainstay of the luxury industry, generating well over $10B a year in revenues. San Francisco has no dearth of companies designing, and sometimes manufacturing, bags locally, but most have an urban, not luxury sensibility. We have more manufacturers than any place with the possible exception of Australia. To mention but a few (ones I have bought bags or pouches from are highlighted with the backpack emoji 🎒), and those that actually make their bags in the US have the US flag emoji 🇺🇸, with those actually made in San Francisco getting their bonus SF emoji 🌁:

• 🎒 🇺🇸 🌁 Waterfield Designs (motto: No mass production or overseas workforce. WaterField bags are designed and made in San Francisco, where rent is high, labor is expensive and competition is intense. We wouldn’t go anywhere else!)
• 🎒 🇺🇸 Chrome (Note: moved to Seattle in 2019)
• 🎒 🇺🇸 🌁 (some lines) Timbuk2
• 🎒 Hlaska
• Mulholland
• 🇺🇸 🌁 April in Paris

There is a newcomer to this list:

• 🎒 🇺🇸 🌁 Rickshaw Bagworks

Update (2012-07-13):

Add to the list:

• 🎒 🇺🇸 🌁 Glaser Designs
• Acme Made
• 🎒 🇺🇸 🌁 Peasants & Travelers
• 🎒 🇺🇸 Mission Workshop

Update (2013-08-07):

And some more:

• 🎒 🇺🇸 DSPTCH
• Archive
• 🎒 🇺🇸 Triple Aught Design
• 🇺🇸 🌁 Zugster

Update (2019-05-22):

It never ends:

• 🎒 AER
• 🎒 🇺🇸 ARKTYPE
• 🎒 Octovo
• 🎒 Peak Design
• Basil Racuk
• 🇺🇸 🌁 Heath + Stein
• 🎒 Black Ember

Update (2021-09-11):

I didn’t realize Baggu is also SF-based:

• 🎒 Baggu