So… if you remember from our last post in this series, I was so happy with our 1st prototype that it was my intent that it would double as our “gorilla sample” as well! But then there was a structural failure that essentially trashed our prototype and totally derailed our intentions… which forced us to make what amounts to a 2nd prototype to serve as our “gorilla sample“, and here it is…
And this may well be the prettiest “gorilla sample” I’ve ever had the pleasure of carrying. I’m really excited about the prospect of sporting this bag around town for the next few weeks even though I made a stupid mistake by grabbing a 20″ closed bottom zipper on the main compartment instead of a 22″ purse zipper with 2 zipper pulls! RATS! But seriously, there really was VERY little I needed to change on this exterior. I did add about a total of ~3/8″ to the width of the side panels, not so much because the interior needed more space (although this DID add space to the interior) but because I felt that this additional width would help in the construction (and it did). Another change in this incarnation is a new way of attaching the side D-ring, which is via a horizontal strip between the panels, which is both effective with far less bulk in the seams! Here’s a good look at the Back side of this sample. I really like how the zipper totally frames the circumference of this bag and totally highlights our striped zipper! There’s nothing that needs to changed here. And if you unzip the back zipper, this is what you’ll see… SIXTEEN card slots! Now I’ve had several people suggest that these cards be oriented vertically rather than horizontally, but here’s the deal… there is NOT room for two columns of cards on each side if they are oriented this way. Several people have also voiced concern that cards might escape if they are stacked they way we’ve presented them above and that’s simply not true. First of all, the cards can be oriented so the slots open either to the left or to the rignt depending on your carrying preference & this compartment will NOT have to opened completely for you to take out the card you need to complete your transaction. Additionally, gravity is simply NOT going to cause a card to jump out of a side pocket, right? AND on another note…this fabric looks like it has large-sized Covid19 viruses all over it, right? I really didnt “see” that until just now! 😀And finally here’s peek at the interior of the main compartment and honestly, here’s where i needed to make some changes. First off on the right side, I redesigned the wallet section so it lays much flatter now. There’s a deep slot behind the zippered coin purse which is suitable for a passport/check register and there’s a mesh pocket in front of the cash slot, but I found that it was so “low” that it was difficult to use. On the left side, the elastic pen holders were just a shade too high because some of my pen tops were bumping up against the btop edge of the bag. I’ll fix this in the next round.
And now… let’s talk about this amazing fabric! It’s all from the “Origins” collection by Satin Moon for Blank Textiles.
I’ve actually had this fabric in my stash for quite some time. I simply had NO idea that the focal birds would be SO LARGE, making this fabric basically useless for bag designs.
But I liked the colorations so much that I decided to basically sacrifice the majority of this panel in order to salvage a prtion of it and I’m so happy I did. I think this bag is easily the most interesting & unusual “gorilla sample” I’ve ever had the pleasure of evaluating!
So do stay tuned for our next post in this series when we’ll give you our evaluation after carrying this bag for a few weeks! I’m pretty psyched about this bag & I hope you are too!
And now, it’s YOUR turn!
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