Bundlebags!
Dear readers, meet Bundlebags. Bundlebags, meet readers. These sly, crafty delights were at that party last Saturday night, too, and they wanted to talk to you, but didn’t really know how to say hi. I told them not to worry, that I knew you personally, and that you totally thought they were cute.
And aren’t they, though?
Bundlebags were created in a traditional Japanese design to serve as the most multi-purpose reusable carry-all you might ever meet. Forget wrapping paper and disposable shopping bags. See here:
Wine for me, wine for you
Tie these guys to conform to the shape of whatever you’re hoping to tote around, or even wear the darn things as a sweet scarf:
Gianna models a Bundlebag
You see?
Adorable! Gianna’s crafty mother is the designer and creator of Bundlebags, which can be found in various Athens, Ga. hot spots, including Menagerie and Frontier.
According to its Web site, Bundlebags are available in handsome cotton, silk and vintage fabrics, and can be made reversible. For more ways to tie and use the Bundlebag, stop by Bundlebags.net.
For where to find Bundlebags and other questions, E-mail bundlebags@gmail.com.
The designs are cute and everything but I’m kind of confused as to what makes this different from a square of fabric.
Good question, Lillian – I asked Gianna, who is quite close to the product and can more eloquently explain their essence than I can, to do just that. She says:
“all bundlebags are either 100% silk or 100% cotton (of a denser weight than scarf or pashmina material) and bought at major fabric imports (mood, forsyth fabric, vintage &/or recycled fabric warehouses). thus, they are of a particular design and function separate from fabric one has “on hand.”
further, the point, per se, of bundlebags is the reusable and versatile nature of carrying your stuff. it is the art of the folds and how the bag tansforms to carry what you need in an aesthetic manner. (why would i wanna carry my huge canvas earthfare bag if i am just holding one book, one wine bottle, etc.?)
ellen is in process of making a fold-out book diagraming and photographing the steps of many of the traditional japanese folds. such should make the old design user friendly in a new way. until then, check out bundlebags.net for video demonstrations, or do your own google-ing keyword- furoshiki.
even more useless tradition information, if you are a southerner, you understand this: someone makes you something, say a casserole or a cake. when it is time to return their cookware/tupperware, one does not give it back empty and clean, but filled with something you made then im return, in gratitude. the japanese do this with bundlebags giftwrap, you wrap the present in the bundlebag, and the recipient returns the bundlebag with a smaller thank-you gift.”