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A View from Bow Street: Accessories help to organize

May 16, 2012 4:11:55 PM EDT

The Right Accessories are Key to Being Organized

ladies with accessories

The cavernous inside of a tote can be perceived as a threat or as an opportunity. Is it a wide, open, deep space that sucks in important objects and requires endless search and rescue for a pen or a comb? Or is it the opportunity for the land of compartmentalization that thrives with a place for everything?

Each Sea Bag tote has a slip pocket that can be command central for your smartphone or keys. However, the rest of the space is available for you to develop as needed. I have found that the right accessories really do help organize the space that naturally invites entropy.

<cosmetic pouch

The cosmetic pouch is appropriate, well, for cosmetics but also for keeping a checkbook, pens, small calculator, business cards and note paper in one place. As parent of small children, I keep a package of wet wipes with straws and utensils in another cosmetic pouch for “just in case” instances. 

anchor change purse

The anchor stamped change purse is a perfect size for credit cards. Or, of course, this accessory keeps coins from bulking up wallets or rattling around at the bottom of the bag.

colorful change purses

The vintage change purse is easy to spot because it is made from brightly colored Dacron sailcloth. It is a little larger than the anchor change purse so a cellphone or iPod with earbuds fit nicely.  

pink chain tote with wristlet

Don’t forget the wristlet. Latch it to the handle for greater access. Often times when I want to downsize or need to travel light, I gather essentials in the wristlet and depart from the mothership tote for quick trips to the grocery store.

ladies with accessories

What else do you carry in your purse or tote?

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0 Comments | Posted in A View From Bow Street By Jennifer DeChant

A View to Bow Street: What Shape Are You In(to)?

April 25, 2012 4:31:04 PM EDT

What shape are you in(to)?

I am a traditionalist by nature. I like the simplicity of the tote. I appreciate the large and open design with boxy, tailored corners and a handle centered atop each side. The open space inside actually helps me be more organized.

However, after spending time with the spring line in the Freeport store, the relaxed lines and softer silhouettes are calling me like sirens of adventure convincing me to consider a fresh look this season.

hobo bag

The crescent shaped hobo bag has a long strap that can be worn cross body and magnetic closure at the top of the bag. I especially like the bold front zippered pocket –available in either silkscreened Breton stripes or with a pop of rare colored Dacron.

courier bag messenger bag

The courier bags, with a magnet closure, and the messenger bags, with a folded flap for added privacy, live at the intersection of where form meets function. Both bags have a large zipped pocket sewn inside for easy of access of essentials. Again, the adjustable straps make for a comfortable cross body fit.

summer satchel

The Summer Satchel most resembles the traditional tote but offers a more relaxed, casual summer silhouette. I like the large, bright geometric pocket outside in addition to the traditional back panel pocket. The hemp rope handle knotted through grommets is a nice touch. And at a lower price point, this is a good Mother’s Day gift.

Spring is for fresh starts and a good time for a change. Try one of these new shapes. They may just become your new tradition!

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0 Comments | Posted in A View From Bow Street By Jennifer DeChant

A View from Bow Street: Thoughts of a Beach Vacation

April 18, 2012 4:00:00 PM EDT

Beach Vacation

 

crowded beach

By now Mainers have removed their snow tires. Even though it was a mild winter, we are conditioned to not be surprised by a snowstorm in March or April. It is after that when we typically usher in Mud Season, or spring, as the rest of the country enjoys around the same time of the year.

beach bag


In Maine, we make the most of our summers and enjoy every moment of warm weather. And, most of us are not easily persuaded to leave the state during those months. We spend hours and days ritually preparing for summer by opening up camps, purchasing beach passes or preparing the boat for the water. Summers in Maine are the best.

 

But between now and summer is an interesting time for Mainers. Naturally our thoughts turn to vacation. This is the time of year - especially facilitated by the fact that school spring break is the same statewide - when some folks flee the 60 degree days to spend time on beaches elsewhere. They trade Maine’s rocky shores and coarse exfoliating sand for warm water and white beaches and 80+ degree-days.

lifeguard station lifeguard tote

 

However, a beach day is never a bad day no matter where it is. It is in that spirit that these photos are shared. Do your vacation plans include visiting Maine this summer?

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0 Comments | Posted in A View From Bow Street By Jennifer DeChant

A View from Bow Street: There Really is a Bag for Everyone

March 28, 2012 2:53:58 PM EDT

A View from Bow Street: There Really is a Bag for Everyone

At Sea Bags we are firm believers that you should love your bag. Every bag is made from a recycled sail that has had its own journey. Most bags are made two-ply so the inside and outside of the bag is different with stitching and character of individual sail panel. Each bag is as unique as the person who is carrying it.

There have been two bags in the Freeport store that I have been wondering about. Both bags are size large. One has large fluorescent orange letters spelling MALIBU. The other has large gold metallic numbers 90210.

Unique, right? I do not know the origin nor the significance of these two place-based totes or how they ended up in Freeport. In a collection of navy anchors, whale tales and vintage numbered images, these two have definitely garnered curious attention.

Each time a customer picks up one of the bags and remarks something to the effect of either, “Who knows someone in Malibu?” or “Wasn’t there a show on television with this zip code?” I wonder if this is going to be the right person for either of those bags.

I have been on Bow Street long enough to know that every bag finds purchase. Some take longer than others. And I have to admit that the neon letters and tony zip code have created much lighthearted exchange about how some day the right person will find these bags.

Aria and Malibu

Then it happened! A gal, who had been working at a local jeweler, came into our Freeport store at the end of the day. As she was gathering her materials before driving to Boston for a flight back to her home in NYC, she noticed a woman carrying a Sea Bag. Immediately she fell in love and was encouraged that there was a store around the corner.

Zuma Beach Malibu

Lightening struck. Magic happened. She was excited to find the MALIBU bag. Her name is Aria and she bought the bag as a gift for her dear cousin and best friend who grew up in Los Angeles. Every time Aria visits they go to Zuma Beach in Malibu. Yes, Malibu. This bag is perfect for her. Score!

Aria was a good sport. From my reaction, she could have thought that she won the in-store lottery (by the way, there is not one). But it was a happy ending. I know that the bright orange MALIBU bag from Maine is going to have some good beach times.

 

Next? Anyone feeling Beverly Hills?


90210 on a chair

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0 Comments | Posted in A View From Bow Street By Jennifer DeChant

A View from Bow Street: Getting Crabby is Okay

March 14, 2012 5:24:08 PM EDT

Getting Crabby is a Good Thing

For years Sea Bags has offered our custom tote program for customers to create a personalized look. During that time, we noticed that several folks incorporated the image of a crab on their special bags. For a while we have wanted to add a crab to our creature collection that includes whale tales, lobster claws and swordfish. And the timing was right for this spring.

We wanted our crab to be different and without the typical jagged points. It took several tries to get this one correct. A variety of concepts were shared but it wasn’t until this design, with softer lines, appeared we knew we had found our newest, sideway walking crustaceblue crab large totean friend.

Our crab is blue (royal blue, actually) but, for the biologists (or Marylanders) among us, it is not meant to be a blue crab. It is not a fiddle crab either.  Even though a closer look reveals the larger, right pincher and even though the fiddle crab moves its smaller claw from ground to mouth during feeding so it looks as if the animal were playing the larger claw like a fiddle, any resemblance is strictly coincidental. Believe me.

Crabs prefer semi-tropic waters so we don’t encounter many of them here in Maine. But our design is kept crabs on a stoolgeneral and is offered as a symbol of great strength and power in gripping and holding. It is also a great graphic for those people born under the zodiac sign, Cancer.

Our lobster claw debuted a couple of years ago and has been well received as a quintessential symbol of Maine ever since. Now we are pleased to add the crab design to our spring collection.

   blue crab pillow

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0 Comments | Posted in A View From Bow Street By Jennifer DeChant
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