*Totes (By Be)

After a crash with a cab wrote-off my old dutch racer, I started riding fixed-gear in 2018. It's the simplicity of them which attracted me- with so few things to go wrong, it seemed the perfect choice for bike-deliveries in the city. After a very short amount of time, I realised I was absolutely not, the first to see such sense! I started to delve into the world of cycle-messengers & couriers, keeping my bills paid, by delivering takeaways & bits of bar work alongside.

I soon learnt the importance of pedalstraps on a fixed-gear bike & got given a pair, made by a fairly reputable brand. Ecstatic to support a (not too-distant) local(ish) brand, I put this seemingly unbreakable product through the paces, singing its praises to everyone I met. Then, within our whole friend group; one after the other- them straps started to fall apart. After getting in touch, the company would replace each pair, which was great. But each & every time one of us got in touch about another broken pair; they'd guarantee each & every one of us, that this had never happened before.

To be blunt: this really fuckt me off. Like, seriously? Gonna say this shit will never break; we all break the shit- then you have the nerve to promise us all, that it had never happened before? Fuck off, man. Straps snap whilst riding brakeless- best hope you aint going fast huh- could be the last time you do & that is not funny in the slightest bit.

Totebags sure aint nothing new. Although; almost because of that reason, in itself; they've pretty much been the same forever. Similar to the traditional musette: totes are typically made of as few a pieces as possible & usually stitched-up as a flat rectangle, with a set-length strap. As is usually my way: I decided to approach the tote bag as a simple starting point, with a handful of simple improvements to make.

Firstly, with Totes (By Be) the bag aint flat- primarily because most things we carry: are not flat. The other reasoning for this, is that we are not flat, it doesn't really make much sense to me to be carrying round a flat bag full of 3d things. I had a couple other gripes with the classic tote too. The strap/s- even when a tote has two straps: they tend to suck. I've reduced my design to one strap, which is adjustable in length; ideal for switching between an almost-empty under-the-arm situation; to a pretty-packed across the shoulder deal! The other improvements I've always wanted to see, with tote bags, is an option to close & the ability to not lose my keys/phone in amongst its contents. I took about solving these issues in one swift motion of a pocket which extends out into a flap for the opening of the bag; closing via two popstuds.

One part of the classic tote, which I absolutely did want to keep, as a factor within my own design; is the big open space for artwork. I grew up working with my mom, printing t-shirts & this time in my life had one of the single biggest positive-influences on the direction of both my work & creativity. Print/graphics have a huge stake in my heart & hobbies, with the Totes (By Be) presenting the perfect medium to give a nod to such a special facet of my own life.

Keeping with this foundation of the Totes, it only seemed right to start them off with some of my own illustrations/graphics. Though, they sure as heck aint limited to my own work. Another driving part of keeping this artwork-space, is for collaborations! I've plenty of friends who produce incredible artwork, illustrations, graphics & as things get on, I'm hoping to offer you some very special, collaborative limited-runs; with some incredible locally-sourced creative talents!

Likewise, if you'd like to chat about working on a limited-run of Totes (By Be) for your own project; would like to talk collabs; or even distribution: please don't hesitate to get in touch via instagram or email (links at the bottom of every page!).