Badass Backpacks has been working behind the scenes all year long to manifest our next round of bags – The Custom 20. I shared this sneak peek image on Instagram last week, showing snippets of the artwork featured on these newest bags.
As we move through the final days of 2017, I’ll be sharing more on Instagram about each one of them. Each bag, beautiful in its own right, features a different artist and a unique theme. The first chance to see these limited edition bags will be in person at EAST Austin Studio tour where we’ll be setting up with Articulation ATX at the North Door in East Austin. A couple of things to explain:
What is The Custom 20?
The Custom 20 is a limited edition production of 20 bags. There are 5 artists total, and 6 new themes, 6 different bags. These numbers feel odd — and while I could offer explanations and stories for how the numbers landed where they landed, I’ll hold back, and will simply say: This all worked out perfectly. Just the way it was supposed to. This initial production is limited to just the 20 bags; following that, we will be exploring these new themes to see about a larger production round for each one, along with a way to pre-order online… make sure to follow us on Instagram over the next few months and let us know what you think. I’m as curious as you are to see which of these bags resonate with our followers. Badass Backpacks’ purpose is to create beautiful bags, and The Custom 20 is an amazing opportunity to experiment with new artistic mediums to tell a story — illustration (Eudaimonia), comic book art (Lost in the Woulds and PopGun Underground), photography (Look Up), cut paper artwork (Dreamcatcher), and iteration based on feedback (Self Reflection Encore). Of course, finessing each one of them onto a backpack.
The 6 new bags:
Eudaimonia, artwork by Patrick Moran.
Lost in the Woulds, artwork by Clint Watson.
Look Up, featuring photography by Ann Alva Wieding.
Dreamcatcher, artwork by Matt Hill.
Popgun Underground, artwork by Clint Watson.
Self Reflection Encore, artwork by Eli Halpin.
How do these 6 new themes work together? They don’t. But they do. The bags were created separately. And yet somehow, having all of them made together: fabric printed, fabric cut, and bags sewn – I can’t help but notice that they all work together to tell a story. A story about flourishing, persisting and sticking with it (even when lost in the woulds), remembering to look up, catching dreams, making them into reality, and celebrating where we are… every step of the way. The Custom 20 has weaved and bobbed and ebbed and flowed — ever changing throughout the year as we worked to bring these bags into the world — and it puts the biggest smile on my face to see that after all of the growth, evolution, and change… The Custom 20 bags, work well together, telling a beautiful story.
Leading up to our time at EAST Austin Studio tour, I’ll make sure to post more info about each one of these individual themes from The Custom 20, as they each have a story to tell… and on Nov 11-12th and Nov 18-19th, you can come out to see us in person to check out the bags. Both Patrick Moran and Ann Alva Wieding will be showing their work with Articulation ATX during EAST, which means if you do visit us, you’ll also have a chance to chat with them about all of their work.
Fall time has arrived (Spring for our Southern Hemisphere followers) — the changing of the seasons always makes me smile. New journeys ahead, new stories to tell.