I take this opportunity to thank you very much : many of you have trusted us in 2018, which encourages us to offer you even more things for this new year !
Moreover, our team is currently preparing several surprises, including the arrival of brands Côte&Ciel and Sandqvist.
We met with their respective representatives a few weeks ago and our partnership is expected to start soon. The opportunity for me to talk a little about these two brands.
CÔTE&CIEL
I met the team Côte&Ciel at the “Tomorrow” fair which took place last January in Paris. For those of you who do not know it, it is a French brand, created in 2008 and has since distinguished itself by its outstanding models.
What I like about them is their way of working systematically against the current. They rethink all uses, all the gestures usually associated with the use of a bag or a backpack.
The features of the pockets or straps, the volume of the bag, materials… everything is questioned. It is no longer a question of storing a computer or optimizing the volume of a bag, of compartmentalizing or strengthening everything, but of telling a new story, proposing or evoking a new way of doing things.
It is no more complicated to use one of their bags than another: it is the form that dictates the use and the experience is only richer.
Their head designer, Emilie Arnault, studied design at ENSAAMA Olivier de Serre and never sketches. She works directly with the materials by folding the leaves of the different tissues she has selected.
The designer draws her inspirations in geometric, natural, organic and animal forms and invites, in my opinion, the user to relive his very first experiments.
Opposite on the left, the emblematic models of the brand, with in order: the “Ashokan”, “Isar”, “Moselle”, “Nile” and “Oril”.
All zips are YKK, customized to the brand name. They only work with 4 different fabrics: a polyester coated with polyurethane (which makes it water resistant and they call it “Obsidian”) , a recycled polyester (called “Ecoyarn”), a cotton coated and a memory-like fabric (“Memory Tech”).
Their new collection did not leave me indifferent, I was seduced by the diversity of their new range and I can not wait to be able to present them in our shop 🙂 .
To wait, here are pictures of the models “Moselle” and “Sormonne”, made in new fabrics.
SANDQVIST
For those of you who do not know Sandqvist, note that the brand was created in 2004 in Stockholm by Anton Sandqvist, then mechanical engineer.
He, his brother and a childhood friend have been working for 15 years now to produce minimalist, functional and resistant bags.
Lovers of travel and nature, they first design models with a simple and classic style, such as “Stig” or “Hege” that you know necessarily (still bestsellers of the brand).
For some time now, the Sandqvist family has been developing more urban bags, borrowing more technical materials from the world of sportswear (from PES 1680D, YKK nylon zippers, mesh …) Here are for example the models “Zack”, “Verner”, “Ruben” and “Algot” that we will have soon in our shop and from which I totally fell in love 🙂 .
All this new collection has been manufactured in recycled Cordura® ballistics 1680D : yes yes, it exists ! Often the color of the recycled PES is less sparkling than that of a conventional PES, which is not the case of the PES “navy” (soon available for all these models), very deep.
Sandqvist pays special attention to the working conditions of its employees. They do not hide it, all their bags are made in India, Vietnam or Turkey. But they are members of the Fairwear foundation, which ensures that their corporate partners respect safe work and pay conditions.
Finally, Sandqvist offers a service to revaluate used bags. This is what they call “Recollection”. The principle is very simple: if your bag is broken, you can have it repaired in one of their workshops.
And if you want a unique Sandqvist bag, you can take a look at their online store. What to give some good ideas to our team 😉 !
Also note that Anton Sandqvist wrote a book (released last year), very useful to aspiring designers who want to learn to sew things in a sustainable way, with resistant materials (often thick).
It’s called “Heavy-duty sewing” and shows us how to make everyday things. From the basic shopping bag to the backpack, all the patterns and tools used are presented.
I can not wait to soon be able to offer all those models 🙂 .
Don’t hesitate to react to this article by writing to me at this address: thomas@keus-store.com, see you soon for other news!
Thomas.
“Heavy-duty sewing” Anton Sandqvist – 2018.
