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?

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.

Collaboration: The Story of What Happens When Wool Meets Sail!

Co-branding is the biggest trend in consumer marketing right now. Sea Bags has been on the forefront of this unique type of collaboration. The most recent example of this type of business relationship links Sea Bags with the Woolrich Company, that is a 175 year old woolen mill and lifestyle-driven brand, to combine earthy wool accents with the maritime Dacron sail material to create a limited number of handsome totes, shaving kits and iPad cases.

Here is Q&A with Nick Brayton, president of Woolrich for an insider’s perspective on how these collaborations form.

1. What is Woolrich’s approach to collaborations?

We have been collaborating with other brands for quite some time.  It stems from the days when we supplied wool and made garments for other brands.  Collaborations are very powerful in that they expose both parties to new audiences through products and stories that are at the heart of both brands.

2. What aspects does Woolrich seek in a brand that they collaborate with?

The great thing about collaborations is the creative process and the amazing products that are the result.  Before we get to that stage, we look for brands that use our wool in a new way and can introduce us to a new audience.  That said the brand has to be a good fit and this is a qualitative assessment.  

3. What was it about Sea Bags that attracted Woolrich to co-branding?

Sea Bags and its products have a great story.  Woolrich products in general are very land based and to mix our wool with sail was a very interesting proposition.  The result are bags unlike any other in the market.

4. What has been the feedback regarding pairing Woolrich classic wool with the texture of recycled sails?

The natural wool fiber paired with the man-made sail cloth evokes an amazing response.  The first thing people want to do is touch it and feel the contrasting materials and then they immediately want to take it home with them.

5. How do both brands compliment each other?

Both brands compliment each other rather nicely.  We're obviously older, there is the land verse sea aspect, but we both share a strong commitment to domestic manufacturing.  It's our differences combined with our commonalities that made for such a great collaboration.

Tis the season.... for exciting sailing! The fall is when a lot of races and cruising rallies kick-off. I recently had the chance to chat with some cruisers setting off for the West Coast's famous Baja Ha-ha. This race takes place every year leaving in October from San Diego and arriving in November in Cabo San Lucas. 

This year, I had a great chat with first-time Baja HaHa-ers,  Max and Liz off of a Stevens 47 sailboat, SV Fluenta.  They were on board with their two young kids (seven and nine years old) and a family friend.  They called me to unload a sail, it was taking up valuable storage space.... it sure was!  This sail weighed 75 pounds and was almost the size of a washing machine!  More room for food, drink, books, spare parts.  We did a dock-side exchange for a large, vintage tote, a gorgeous beige bag, with a single tell-tale still on it.  Unfortunately, we were both so excited about all the preparation, that I didn't take a picture of either the bag, the boat or the sail! Next time... but you can read all about their adventures here.

Just as the Baja Ha-ha cruiser-racers were finishing, an entirely different kind of race was starting off the coast of France.  Vendee Globe single-handed racers set out on an entirely different adventure. No pot-luck barbeques on the beach, no prizes for best costumes crossing the starting line, and no one else to stand watches with you in the middle of the night.  This is nail-biting, high-tech, big ocean racing adventure!  We're rooting for Samantha Davies, not because she is the only woman competing but because she seems like the smartest while still having a sense of humor!  

What inspiring adventures! We hope you have an adventure or two on your bucket list, and until then, can live a little through the great stories and videos online for these races.