Properly Made Bag
SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE IN MAY or JUNE
The VPCo Properly Made Bag is designed for everyday life - be that in the city or the countryside, for leisure, or for work.
It's large enough for useful items, but not too big to be burdensome - for us, it's the perfect size.
Practicality
We've been field testing these bags on a daily basis for a few months now, for anything from mid-week basic grocery shopping (it holds a surprising amount of food and drink), beach trips (towels, clothes, flasks, light summer jackets). We've used it to take parcels to the post office, as an airplane carry-on (phones, laptops, chargers, headphones), and just as an everyday bag for stuff! It's great!
But why did VPCo make a bag?
We're always thinking about making products that might compliment our Properly Made Books and printed papers, something that utilises our craft alternately but which offers customers a different way to enjoy what we do.
Last year we made a range of printed bags which were very popular, especially the lined denim bags, but we wanted to up our bag game this year and make something that was more than a fancy shopping bag.
The sensible thing to do would have been to appproach third-party manufacturers who make off-the-shelf, customisable bags but as is invariably the VPCo way, we came to the conclusion that sourcing a Made in China, Indonesia or Vietnam product would certainly be the most sensible, practical and financially viable route for us to take, but ethically, it wasn't right for us.
Our business is built on "Handmade in Orkney".
Don't get me wrong, we're not super woke, or eco mad or anti global trade, or anything akin to that. We're more than aware that there's a place for these things in our world, but we feel, if we can make things here, locally, then we should, so we did.
The manufacturing materials and process.
The bags are made with a printed VPCo organic linen fabric - the Stromness Mackerel pattern. Inside, it's lined with natural calico. The fixtures are London Tan leather and brassware.
In keeping with our (sometimes ruinous) ethos of Handmade In Orkney, these are indeed handmade in Orkney.
Our neighbour, Annie Fanning, is the seamstress. She sews these by hand and by machine, in her basement studio which is a few doors down from our own workshop, here in Stromness. The leather fixtures are made by our longterm collaborator, Findlay Tulloch, a violin maker and all-round boy genius, in his workshop in Birsay, a tiny village a few miles north of Stromness.
The bag has two sets of handles; a pair, permanent attached made of London Tan leather and a detachable, organic linen crossbody strap for when you want to go handsfree.
The top of the bag has a reinforced inner liner.
Through this are various leather and brass fixtures which allow the bag to carry a considerable weight.
The brass fixtures are Chicago screws that we have glued in to ensure they don't come undone.
Inside the bag is a brass plate with the bag's limited edition number engraved on it.
This is screwed to the laserengraved Stromness Mackerel through which the leather closure strap fits.
There's also a full-width, zipped pocket for valuables (purses, phones, candies), two pen pockets and a thick London Tan leather base.
There are four brass feet on the bottom allowing the bag to stand freely.
These bags are made in very limited quantities - the first series will be limited to 16 pieces.
Size: 13½ x 13½ x 3 inches, 350 x 350 x 75 mm (approx)
Leather Straps: 24 inches, 600mm
Crossbody Strap: 45 inches, 115 cm
SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE IN MAY or JUNE