The time has come for the next iteration of a long-standing favorite. Since I started making my tote bags in 2011, they have evolved a few times in small, but meaningful ways. This time around feels like a pretty major step up.
You may or may not know this, but from the start, I have always sewn on my fabric images to pre-made, blank canvas bags. They have been great bags – I took a great deal of care in finding a source that made a high-quality bag with all the features I wanted. And I know they have stood the test of time, as some of my first buyers of these bags tell me they still use them!
However, over the past couple of years, I have watched the cost of these bags climb steadily, while the quality began to diminish. I started spending more and more time preparing the bags. Beyond my standard washing, ironing, and installing grommets, I had to inspect each bag to clean up sloppy stitching and fix problem areas, so that you could continue to enjoy the same level of beautiful durability as always.
This was becoming unsustainable, and I knew I was faced with a decision: continue ordering & fixing bags (ugh), find a new source (unlikely, considering how few options I found the first time around), OR make them from scratch myself.
I had been flirting with the idea of making them myself for a while, and knew that if I did, I’d want to preserve most of the features that drew me to these bags in the first place.
I love the size of the bag, the weight of the material, the length and feel of the strap. I love how easy it is to care for. I wanted to keep all of that and make it better than what I’d been getting.
So, I sketched out my design,
I figured out sources for materials,
I did the math.
I quickly realized I could easily source materials at good prices, and the main difference would be in the time I would spend on making the bags. After more consideration, I determined I was already spending more time on each bag, but in frustration. If I made the bags myself, I would have full control over every aspect of the design and finish. That idea felt liberating!
And so I took the leap!
As I prepare to release my first small batch of the latest generation of tote bags, I am feeling very good about my decision to make them myself. I’ve not only kept all the features I’ve loved about my tote bags, but I have also made some structural improvements.
I have kept the bags a generous size; the body is approximately 13″ tall x 14″ wide, and expands to 5.5″ deep. They have newly modified side seams & reinforced boxed corners for an even sturdier construction where it counts!
I also kept the straps a nice 22″ length for ease of carrying over the shoulder, but widened the top hem of the bag a bit to make their attachment to the bag more secure.
You may have noticed at this point the straps are missing my signature grommets. This feature is not going away, but it will no longer be a standard feature. Even using proper tools, installing grommets on hundreds of bags a year is getting too rough on my hands. So, from now on it will be something I can easily install on any bag as an upgrade!
Speaking of upgrades, there will be new upgrade options available, not just in person at my store in Glens Falls, NY, but online as well!
For the past year or so, I’ve been offering upgrade services at my store in Glens Falls, and now I want to make the same options available to anyone who can’t shop with me in person.
Just as I design all my products to work the way I want them to work, I want you to have your tote bag function the way you want.
Now, beyond choosing if your tote bag image will be a pocket or not, you can also have me add on a velcro closure, a pair of grommets, or a key fob, or all three!
The velcro closure and key fob would be installed on the inside of the bag near/in the hem, and the grommets would be installed on the sides of the bag near the top edge (to avoid creating a weak point in the straps). The samples shown here give you an idea of how that would look.
In an ideal world, I would have made this decision at a time of year when I could focus solely on this transition for a while, but alas, it is not an ideal world. And as a one-woman show I do juggle many things to run my business and pursue my artistic endeavors.
So, you will see the new generation of tote bags and upgrade options appear in the store over time, as I sell through what I have left of the previous generation, making the transition an organic one rather than all at once.