Tully

Could a custom bag company put a design like this on a bag? Or do designs usually have to be more 'textile' based (stripes, dots, etc.)?




I used the search function but couldn't really tell how far custom bag detailing went.

And, of cousre I don't meen a complete duplicate of that image (ie: color fade, rippled backround) but mostly the SHAWSCOPE lettering and Shaw Bro's. shield.

citypigeon

definetly

operator

uh

Retem

yes most bag companies are very skilled with appliques get on re loads site and email them

LóFarkas

Easily. Embroidery. I don't think applique works with the tiny oriental letters at the top, but they can surely be embroidered. Won't be cheap, though.

Analog

You could always have it screen-printed. It would probably be the easiest way to do that design.

breakthenorm

Agree. You'll get exactly what you want.

Retem

hell in that case stencil and spray paint anyone

get_nuts

Screening isn't very difficult. Just find someone with the materials.

onetwentyeight 

this is about as detailed of embrodery as ive seen in a bag (ive seen a bit more but not much). embrodery in combination with applique could do something on the level of detail you want, no doubt. talk to flippin hades!




this is a ramblin worker bag, btw.

killsurfcity

reload. from what i have seen (and i have shared workspace with them on a few occasions) they can do anything.

FlippingHades

Under the Weather can also do that - take a look at their gallery, there's some unbelievable stuff in there.

I could do the main logo, but the Kanji characters would probably be a stretch - the machine I currently use for embroidery isn't so hot with the very small details.

cointelpro

Shaw brothers, nice. BAM just did a retrospective on some of their works. I finally got to see Five Venoms on the big screen.

11.4

That kind of fine detail (in the calligraphy) actually gets below the resolution level of applique -- at least, if attempted, it doesn't look good. It'd get quite expensive as well (I had a bag with the same amount of fine applique done and it cost $200 extra). You can have machine embroidery done, but it requires a program that costs about $200. Then the embroidery itself is only $15-20, but a bagmaker will have to quote set-up fees and the like. They usually do this in situations where they do 20-100 bags at a time, like for a messenger service. You definitely get the detail and greater range of colors, shading, etc. Silkscreening works, but it won't have the elegance of embroidery and it'll be more subject to wear. Those are the standard techniques.

You can also scan that image at high resolution and then have it shot directly onto photosensitive fabric. That way you will get the background quilted look and everything (or if you don't want all that, go to Photoshop and remove the background). The fabric can then be stitched onto your bag. The image will be quite durable but the fabric itself won't be as durable as the cordura the bag is made of.

Or try using mixed media. Use applique for the ShawScope and logo, and for the calligraphy have it painted on by someone using rubberized paints. Those are amazingly durable, can be applied to cordura, and can be retouched if you ever need it.

FlippingHades

You *can* do machine-embroidered calligraphy with a zig-zag machine -- check out this bag by UTW:



It just takes a lot of skill - you have to adjust the zig-zag width while you're stitching, and it takes practice to be able to coordinate with one hand controlling your fabric, one foot on the pedal, your knee on the presser foot lift, and your other hand on the stitch width regulator.

Mr. Toad

Yes. Reload Bags can definitely do it. They just did an awesome custom bag for me. It's expensive, but no one else will have it.
Their website is
https://www.reloadbags.com/
Check out the custom stock page.

moki

one day bag compnies are going to wake up (or sell out, depending on your take) and get laser cutters and sub out embroidery to a place with a computer controlled machine.

SamHouston

We do, they do, we all do, just not for one-offs. Corporate logos et al, sure have a computer/machine do it, why waste skills on such repetition. For something personal or that there will be only one of, for example something you drew that is specific to you, that you'd rather NOT see anywhere but your own bag/self, the organic look of an artist's touch add to it's appeal & value. Precise measurements & digitized stitching do not count as an enhancement in those circumstance, do they? Even text can be made better than perfect with some crafted imperfection.

Plus there's "thread painting" which a machine could do, but probably wouldn't, not without a team of digitizers & days of work positioning the materials etc, no more than a machine could produce a worthy oil painting with a wooden brush & palette without a team of experts at it's side. Someday maybe...actually almost definitely, til then skills will be appreciated as much as the ideas that compliment them I hope.


This is an example of applique, embroidery & thread painting. Mind you it's a $500 bag, and it'd been more if not a repro of an actual painting or privately commissioned, but we made it for a show so there it is. Thread painting isn't nearly as durable as embroidery/applique either, besides the width the stitch length & tension is called into play. I can't do this, but the boss is good at it.


Thanks for the props Adam!

FlippingHades

You betcha - you know I get excited every time your gallery is updated

Landgolier

I don't normally get this grumpy or didactic, but these custom bags are getting over the top consumerist. S*** needs to get back to DIY. If you can buy it, it's not style.

Some beautiful work is being done by the people making them, tho.

Tully

That is ridiculous. I don't have the skills to create beautiful artwork, so I shouldn't be allowed to decorate my surroundings with other artist's creations that they have been kind enough to share with the world? Give me a break.

In this case I definitely do not have the skills to create the design I have in mind, but with the help of someone that is skilled I can work together with them and have something that came out of my mind but wouldn't exist without the help of a skilled person. Teamwork is rad!

Landgolier

Yes you do.

octopus magic

Yeah man, lemme just pull out 3 grand for a juki industrial sewing machine out of my bunghole.

Landgolier

I'm talking about the decorations, not the bags themselves. Anybody can decorate their own rig. I mean, the showpieces are one thing, I think it's beautiful art, but it seems like they've become the latest commodity fetish around here. Before this it was Rapha ****.

FlippingHades

Comparing what independent bag makers do to Rapha is stretching things by a LOT. Rapha stuff is mass produced with like a 4000% markup over the cost of materials - it's a luxury brand based on Mmarketing. Look at how similar their catalog feels to, say, Tag Heuer, or Rolls Royce, or, I dunno, Prada.

RELoad, UTW, Seagull, Bedlam, me, mikearena, (I'm sure I'm missing someone here) - the price you pay for the artwork is based on labor (and it *is* a lot of labor), and I think everyone's charging pretty damn fair rates, across the board.

It's *fetishistic* now for people to want a unique bag? Something with an image on it that means something to them personally?

Sorry, I'm calling bull****.