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.

 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.

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.

A Whale Tail of Customization

My name is Danielle and I have been asked to tell you about my custom tote. 

I have been a naturalist with Quoddy Link Marine, a whale watching company out of St. Andrews, NB for the past 11 years.  Typically we are on the water from the end of June to mid-October and journey about 30-35 miles to the middle of the Bay of Fundy. We spend time with minke, finback and humpback whales as well as seals, porpoise, shark and many seabirds. 

The Bay of Fundy is big, over 60 miles across at the mouth, so there are many parts of the Bay that we just cannot visit on a typical 3-4 hour whale watch.  The Grand Manan Basin is a critical habitat for the endangered north Atlantic right whale.  During the summer and early fall these 80 ton whales visit the basin to feed on copepods, nurse their young and court. But in 2009, it was one of those rare seasons when right whales came north, closer to St. Andrews, within reach of our whale watch. 

From August 24-September 4, 2009, we had the privilege to spend time with, photograph (all of our data collected goes down to the New England Aquarium’s right whale research team) and share these incredible whales with our passengers, and with less than 475 individuals in the world it is indeed a privilege. 

During these 2 weeks we saw one whale a number of times, "Tips", an adult male first documented in 1980, he even showed curiosity in the boat on more than one occasion.  Right whales are individually identified by their callosities, the roughed patches of skin on their head, as well as any unique scars on their back, tail stock or even tail as in the case of Tips. 

There are a number of whales I have spent time with over the past decade but the time I spent with Tips is something I will never forget.  Thank you Sea Bags for working with me to make this custom tote possible, I LOVE IT!

Authenticity is great inspiration!

Since 1999, Sea Bags has been making fun, functional and stylish handmade bags and now a diverse line of accessories from recycled sails in the historic Old Port district of Portland, Maine.   

Our location on the working waterfront of Custom House Wharf is unrivaled.  We are off the beaten path.  Visitors who venture down the brick alley to our workshop are greeted with humming sewing machines accentuated by music from someone’s iPod or satellite radio (ongoing battles between 80s and 90s tunes).

It may be uncommon to equate manufacturing with creative work. But we embrace the liberty to create, design, and produce functionally unique recycled products. Not to mention, it is super easy to find inspiration in the maritime authenticity –impossible to imitate -that surrounds us.

I-Spy: Patriotic floats on the dock

I Spy: Crazed seagull peering in the conference room window

I Spy: Who knew that lobster traps came in these cool colors?