Design is a odd balancing act, over reaching design statements may lead to an un-appreciated product, while staying with conventional design themes can be seen as unimaginative and boring. I prefer to break new ground by building on what has been, a historical perspective with the knowledge of how to make it contemporary. The fashion industry, it’s designers and retailers, are often at odds with one another. The retailers know what sold well last season and generally speaking they prefer , while designers want to create something new. I suppose this is why so many private label collections are put together by non-designers who design by credit card (buying bags to knock off and modify). The industry is alive with knock off artists, because the best predictor of what will sell is the recent sell through data. For me, I have come to terms with the sweep of history in Bag Design by understanding what the trends are doing, knowing what shapes are selling, and knowing bag construction well enough to add my own twist. I despise the knock off artist, but have accepted them as reality. As a mature designer, I am comfortable creating well constructed bags that are elegant in their own way. You can fake a design, but you can not fake design experience. We hope our friends and followers are drawn to the spare design statements with the combination of function and small touches of color that make our bags unique.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

The Smithsonian Institution Libraries site has a beautiful collection of Czech Book covers from the 20’s and 30’s. Many of the books feature hand-drawn type and those books which utilize set type retain a human quality about them.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

The Vagaries of the fashion industry and the value of hindsight

I have been a participant and student of the bag industry for over twenty-five years. When I started in the industry my heros in the industry were Judisth Lieber, Bottega Vennetta and Myers. Myers has gone out of business, Judith Lieber’s company isn’t the same since she died and Botegga Vennetta remains strong.  Back then product was mainly made in the US and Europe. The designers (like Judith Lieber) designed product from the experience of being sample makers and were people that knew the history of bags.  In the in 80’s better bag price points started at $120 and topped out at $1,500 (with exceptions for exotics). Now remember, the majority of made those bags were made in high labor countries. If you were to go into any department store today those prices are in the main still viable; though the top end has continued to climb. The majority of manufacturers are now importers; mainly from China. You may ask what is lost in this bargain, the consumer gets a good value and importers are able to get able to get their products in a timely manner, plus make money. The losers in this picture are the economies and people of the countries like ours. Young design/entrepreneurs are less informed about the possibilities of new designs and it takes a lot more money to start a new bag company as an importer. There is a value in supporting companies like ours. You are not only making it possible for our family to make a living but you are supporting all the good people that we work with to pay their bills.

- David Bloom

The first time I saw a diagram of a ship with dazzle camouflage, I thought that the diagram was a recent, purely conceptual illustration. However, I just learned that these camouflage patterns were actually used in both World Wars. The purpose of dazzle camouflage is not to conceal, but to disorient. The patterns make it difficult for onlookers to determine which direction the ship is heading. The Rhode Island School of Design has an online exhibit dedicated to these incredible camouflage patterns.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

Letman (Job Wouters) has some great illustrative and hand-lettered work in his portfolio. It’s refreshing to see that many of his projects do not contain any digitally-rendered typefaces. I also really like the video project, ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ, in which Wouters has a lettering session with his nephew. It’s really interesting to see how children interpret the letters that they see.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

David Levine has an extraordinarily large collection of international travel ephemera from the 20’s and 30’s. There are some extremely inspiring graphics featured on some of these brochures, and it is quite humbling to imagine that more than 80 years ago someone thought of these great ideas and executed them without the use of a computer. Be sure to check out the brochures from Switzerland.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

Micah Lidberg has a wonderful artist portfolio, full of illustrations, patterns, and hand-rendered type. The artist uses a variety of media, including digital, to produce these incredibly detailed works.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

Bruce Black has an enormous collection of  scanned colophons from the 1940’s & 50’s on his website. Each of these marks utilizes a limited color palette and overall shape simplicity. I particularly appreciate the “common” aesthetic found in these marks. They weren’t created to be pretentious or high-end,  but to appeal to the average reader who is simply looking for entertainment.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

Here are a few photos of one of the new bags we will be releasing in our next update. The Cobble Hill Tote is a large chamber canvas tote bag with vegetable tanned leather straps and trim, a side pocket for a phone or an Ipod, and a key organizer. Be on the look out for this as well as other new bags from us shortly.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

Maraid has quite an array of vintage matchbook labels from Eastern Europe on Flickr. It’s fascinating to see the effects created by the bleeding inks and the unpredictable registration associated with printed materials of this scale.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

Style is something cultivated through years of experience. It comes naturally to some, others end up starring on “What Not to Wear” or fading into a patina of blurry look-a-likes. For Lalie Kavulich standing out is not an issue. When she isn’t crafting formal wear with the Rhinestone Rembrandt  MANUEL, you can find her reconstructing vintage garb for a new clothing line or dancing to James Brown. Sound like the kind of girl you might want to meet? We think so.

I was immediately attracted to the use of clean type and noisy photography in the album art for Brian Gossett’s, The Heist Series. However, the series goes deeper than just the pretty covers, it also has a great concept. Gossett’s love for the heist film genre becomes apparent through his vast knowledge of the films’ scores and his ability to compile the compositions in a cohesive manner. Check out his site, where you can download the mixes and read his wonderful accompanying descriptions.

-THE BAG MESSENGER