We are in the Business of People Pleasing

We are a close-knit bunch of people working on Custom House Wharf. We are proud to make high quality tote bags and home accessories from recycled sails.

We strive for superior customer service in every step of the manufacturing process. We carefully and efficiently cut the sail for its highest and best use. We prepare the sail panels to reflect the original character of the sail and strategically stitch reinforcement points for product longevity. We hand splice each rope handle and quality check each Maine made product before we ship.

It is important for you to love your bag. And it is equally important that if you are giving Sea Bags as a gift, the recipient knows that you - as the gift giver - made a thoughtful choice.

Each Sea Bag is as unique as the person carrying it. Here are photos of some of the fun customers I have had the pleasure to encounter:

These friends from Germany showed off their international shopping prowess.

Michael from North Carolina proved that dudes do Sea Bags.

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Paul was pleased to receive his wallet as a holiday gift from Sea Bags.

Jennifer introduced her friend Deborah to Sea Bags.

These gals bought bracelets to commemorate their friendship and their summer biking riding tour.

Julie had her posse with her to help decide on which bag to purchase.

The family that shops in the rain together -stays together.

Greetings from Custom House Wharf. Happy Holidays. Enjoy your bag.

Looking for a great gift for Baby?  

We LOVE Milo in Maine onesies. We love the designer, the look, the feel and the quality.

Also kind of in love with Erin Flett Designs.  Erin, has a such a great eye for big bold graphics and we love them here. Particularly in love with her Tuna Pillow. Aren't you?

 Traditionally there is time on the agenda during our fall strategic planning retreat dedicated to brainstorming products for holiday. The Staff Picks section on our website showcases diverse ideas from the people who work everyday in the workshop. Click the staff's name to see their pick.

Lisa: The Moon and The Star

Lisa is creative by nature and credits Maxfield Parrish as influencing her painting. When presented with the opportunity for her staff pick, she decided on the festive flair of combining two metallics with objects not usually seen on the totes. As a skilled seamstress with Sea Bags for three years, she has seen plenty of stars but wanted to pair it with a crescent moon. 

This Christmas, Lisa is beginning a new holiday tradition with her daughters. She and her youngest daughter will depart Portland for Boston where they will connect with her middle daughter. Then the three of them will drive to the home of the eldest daughter, who lives in Brooklyn with her husband and 11 month old son Owen. It is there where Lisa will partake in quality “grammy time” with her grandson.

Rob: White on White Wristlet

It was Rob’s mom who sparked the inspiration for his staff pick. She visited the Custom House Wharf store where Rob works in customer service and production. Among the wristlets displayed by the cash register, the white whale tail stitched on the white wristlet caught her eye. So Rob suggested an anchor stitched with navy thread for a clean look and to offer a nice alternative to a tote.

Shhh….! Don’t tell his mom that this might be one of the gifts she finds under the Christmas tree at their family home in Boothbay. Rob will spend Christmas there with his parents, sister and her family traveling from NYC and with his twin brother, Peter, who lives in Boulder, Co. By the fireplace, Rob says his father will revisit the lapsed family tradition of reading “The Night Before Christmas” for his three month old nephew.

Jessica: It is a tanbark-thing

Jessica has been waiting for the opportunity to showcase her favorite sailcloth. She began with Sea Bags nearly seven years ago and after making gifts for her immediate family (sister, who lives in Florida; brother and mother who both reside in the greater Portland area), Jessica made herself a bag in 2010. She chose tanbark because of its unique leather-like look for the fall/winter months. After many compliments and realizing that tanbark transcends the seasons, she chose rustic hemp rope handles and suggested it for her employee pick.

Each Christmas, Jessica embraces the shared family tradition of watching “A Christmas Story” over and over again. She smiles when she reluctantly admits that she knows all the lines.

Are you shopping for quality made-in-America holiday gifts? Look no farther.

This is the season to give meaningful gifts. While shopping for the holidays, it is becoming easier to incorporate domestic manufactured items within the gift-giving list. Understandably, first questions when making a purchasing decision may involve “how much does this cost” or “how long will this last” but we are pleased to notice the trend toward asking “Was this made in the USA?”

At Sea Bags since 1999, we are proud to offer finely crafted, fun, functional totes and accessories that we make from recycled sails on Custom House Wharf in Portland.

We construct each item to endure and to continue the journey of the sail. Our designers and stitchers work side by side to identify and reinforce pressure points. In addition to keeping sails from the landfill, we respectfully cut each sail to utilize every piece possible for change purses, coasters or our beloved hangtags.

Environmental sustainability is a cornerstone to our company and is evidenced by how we utilize a retired sail to its highest and best re-purpose. Have you seen the beloved Sea Bag signature wine tote, “Recycle, Re-Gift, Rejoice!”  Designed specifically for re-gifting, the traveling wine bag features a label to re-gift among your circle of friends.

With 13 years well-earned experience working with sailcloth, we are especially proud that the finest details, such as the rope handles and thread, are sourced from American companies too.

We realize that shoppers have limitless options. When you purchase a Sea Bag, you get a product that represents the unrivaled pride of our employees and our commitment to excellence in customer service. We embrace that signs of hard sailing may be seen in every Sea Bags creation, making them as individual and unique as their owner.

By showing a preference for American made products companies will respond to this trend and react by bringing more manufacturing back to the USA. And, here on the working waterfront, we think that is a good idea.

So after the frenzy of new bag buying that happened around here over the weekend, I'd like to take a minute to remind you of how to care for that Sea Bag, and more importantly, how to appreciate the patina of wear from a few years of carrying it around.

Everyone is different in their preferences, some people like to keep the bags as white as possible, and are discouraged by the handles' accumulated dirt. Other people love the character and worn-in softness the bags develop after years of being slung in the backseat, on the beach blanket, or out to the pool. To each her own! If you want to give your Sea Bag a little scrub, buff it up to a happier shade of white, ( though we're still talking about a recycled sail here, right!?) here are some cleaning tips. These are for bags without any leather or metallic on them. Spot clean those.

• Empty your bag, turn it inside out, shake all those mystery crumbs out of it.
• Spot clean trouble spots - remember these are spots you put on the bag, not the authentic signs of sailing and big adventures that came on the bag. Use a liquid dish soap, not going to endorse any one in particular though I will say that one that is blue and whose name is a synonym for sunrise, works wonders.
• Soak handles, if they're white, in a solution of bleach and water, a teaspoon per quart. Or use a bleach pen. Don't do this on any handles other than the white ones. A bucket with the water and bleach solution, with the bag propped over it, handles in it, works well.
• Now toss the whole bag in your washing machine, with regular laundry detergent and an extra soak cycle. Wash on a normal cycle, using warm or cold water.
• Do not put in the dryer. Hang to dry, preferably in the sun so it can work it's magic.

You'll likely get a bag that's significantly cleaner, but not pristine. And that's the beauty of a Sea Bag, it has a story, first from the sailing it did before becoming a bag, and then from all the adventures you've taken it on. Enjoy!

PS. When in doubt, give us a shout! There are experts in the Portland shop, really, there are.