(it's almost accidentally vegan)

We wanted a bag that fits into a basket, stays there even without a net, and blows the doors off paper bags or the semi-reusable $0.99 to $4.99 open-top store-promo shopping bags that make you look like a hobo anytime you have one in your hand and you're not at the grocery store. (Not a hobo-knock, just a fact.)

Then we thought:
(1) Why not make it in the town Annie Leibowitz grew up in?
(2) Why not make it in the town where the Timex museum still is?
(3) Why the heck not  make it out of fabric made where Donovan P. Leitch was born, and the same fabric used for rain and sun protection for Range Rovers?

It seemed impossible to tie all those requirements together. They seem so probably mutually exclusive. But somehow we pulled it off, and the Sackville ShopSack was born.

The Sackville ShopSack is a better shopping bag than anything you can buy at REI or at the checkout counter. It's wider than tall, so it's way easier to load, and things don't pile up as much and get squished so easily. It has handles made of the best U.S.-made military spec webbing that will never, ever crap out on you, and a zipper to hold everything inside, inside.

The combination of expensive Scottish all-cotton fabric we import ourselves and American labor don't make a cheap bag, and at one point in the development, we were looking at retail price of close to $75. For a bag whose main purpose (grocery tote) was so mundane, and the $75 price seemed insane, and so we stripped it of complications until the only things left were a handle that works in your hands or over your shoulder; and snaps to keep it from flying out of the basket over bumps. There's no cell-phone pocket or Kangaroo pocket, no wallet sleeve inside, no zipper guard, no shoulder strap, no leather, no mesh water-bottle pocket. There's no feature surprising, excessively thoughtful, or clever. It's just a shopping bag that works with a basket (or without) and will last twenty years.

We know from experience that it also works great as a tote bag, a camping/touring bag, and a briefcase-type thing. All of our prototypes are used daily, in baskets. They'll be replaced with real ones soon, and sold at the weekend garage sales.

Two sizes. The medium ShopSack fits the medium Wald basket, and the big one fits the big Wald or Gamoh. If you have another basket, it may not fit it. Too small for the basket is no problem--not even a tiny one. Too big is a problem only if the sack is full.

Outside of a basket, your ShopSack is a nice tote, a great shopping or beach or camping bag or carry-on.

Now also available in Grid Grey Fab:

We now have most models in a tough ripstop waxed and everything-proof cotton/poly blend, and if the poly scares you, it shouldn't.  It comes from Scotland, so it wins a few points back there.  It's used for truck tarps, and that's good for a few more points. It's thick, stout stuff.  A bit lighter than the solid dark Sackville fabric (all cotton), but it's nothing at all like sheeny nylon poly.

Flat Dimensions:
Large ShopSack - 28" x 13.5"
Medium ShopSack - 21.5" x 10.5"


Flash: Here's what a customer wrote:

You should mention that despite its reasonable price, the Shopsack is
really well made. I was pleasantly surprised to see taped and sewn
seams inside -- far more durable, and a super-duper real-world feature
that adds durability. You de-contented the Shopsack to keep the cost
down, but thankfully did not lower the construction quality -- so be
sure to point that out. The current blurb might lead others to think - as
I did - that perhaps more corners had been cut. I'm glad I took a flyer
-- perhaps others will too if you help them out with more info!

Thanks for providing things to make my commute easier and more satisfying!

-JW

Sackville capacities (pdf).