Adornment has always mattered to me.  The communication of personal style through adornment especially.   Accessorizing as a way to speak with the external world what is happening with us internally.  

I grew up with a grandmother, my mother’s mother, who matched her scarf, her jewelry, her shoes, her handbag and her wallet.  She was sharp.  She made a statement when she arrived and never had to say anything.  Although she was never shy and always had something to say.  She was full of life, personality and wit.  I get my dry sense of humor from her, I get my sassiness from her, but I also get my sense of what style is and how to use it from her. 

So when I consider the bags for our consumer I think of how they will be used, who will use them and what the bag will say.  We as a brand want to send a message of being a considerate & conscious consumer, that is our Why collectively, my Why when it comes to pencil to paper is I want her (you) to be expressing yourself when you wear one of our bags.  I want you to grab this bag as your favorite item because it’s easy to use, it uplifts your style, it says something about you and you feel good wearing it.  

When it comes to designing the shape of the bags that are classic, functional, and understated, the hardware then becomes the expression of style.  Which to me means the hardware is not only aesthetically pleasing, it’s also functional and experiential.  It serves a purpose.  It makes you turn your head and it makes you notice.   It is the accessory’s accessory.  The jewelry of the bag.  The component that will take it from a nice bag to a GREAT bag. 

We also develop an intimate relationship with the hardware when we open our bag, when we adjust the strap, pull a zipper and hook our keys.  Each time we touch it, we in fact place our energy into the metal of the hardware and it holds our imprint.   It becomes a part of us and us a part of it.  We’re creating a relationship.  It may seem that the things we carry are just things, but if you have items in your closet that you love, you know there is an emotional connection to them.  You have memories with them.  They are on this life journey with you.   

As we patiently wait for our bus or train we find ourselves caressing the smooth metal of the clasp.  As we connect to our mother on the phone we rub the zipper pull between our fingers. These are sensory experiences that create this connection with the items in our world.  So they not only are functional and aesthetic connections, they are sensory as well. 

As I sit with my pencil to paper and our powerful logo, the designs of the functional, aesthetic, and experiential hardware designs dance in my head.  And we play with how to open this, clasp that, adjust this, and close that with open and expanding minds.  The creative collaboration with the tech designer supportive, exciting and fun. 

These are some of the additional things we consider as we design you sustainable bags that you can have a relationship with for a very long time.

Marnie Quinn

Captains Log 108

"I had a major creative block this week.  I knew the styles I wanted, the basic silhouettes, but couldn't see what would make them ours.... Every time I tried to put pencil to paper, nothing.  So what does a girl do who is living a conscious life?  she goes and gets Reiki.  Low and behold my sacral chakra - creative center - is blocked.  As the Reiki practitioner unblocks it I am flooded with design ideas right in the middle of our session.  

I put pen to paper and I just can't stop.  I am so excited about what was flowing out and cannot wait to get them in work and make them come to life with our partners over seas.

Materials are on their way to us, being shipped as we speak, in my mind they are the best cruelty free options we can find from across the globe and will align in aesthetic to what we are all about.  

Things are happening over here.  It's been an exciting journey so far.  

Complete with silly humor, Kristen Wiig impressions and lots and lots of Vegan Food from Vital Root"

Marnie Quinn