There are stories that remained etched on our minds. And this is one of them. On the very same day we sent our newsletter announcing the new collections from Equipaje BCN (our coloured Duffle bags and two styles made of embossed material) we received this email message from a long-standing client from Great Britain:
Dear Sirs,
Oh THANK GOODNESS you have brought back this material! The planes, trains, cars, etc. embossed on it make it ideal for travel bags. My FAVOURITE Equipaje bag was made from it. It was more like a handbag with two (longish) handles, rectangular in shape and a zipper fastening at the top. I believe it had a yellow lining. Not only did it hold a lot more than you thought it did, it was INDESTRUCTIBLE and went with me in the cabin on countless flights. The only reason I’m not still using it is that it was STOLEN!! Are you planning any other designs using this material? The two items on your website look good, but I am an old lady and prefer something more handbaggy.
Kind regards,
Sylvia Segal
That embossed material featuring the airplane, train and car motif that Sylvia describes is the very same one designed by Javier Mariscal in 1989. Yes, in 1989. More than 20 years ago. During that period, we saw each other quite a lot and were very interested in working together. We asked him to send us some sketches, and in a flash we had our embossed material. It was just like having our own monogram. We weren’t Vuitton, but in our own way we felt important.
We took these collections to a good number of trade fairs and they worked out quite well. So much so, that our Equipaje BCN embossed bags were being sold alongside furniture, lamps and decorative objects in some of the best design boutiques around the world. And that includes the MoMA in New York. As well as the now-defunct boutique Vinçon in Barcelona (where with our very own eyes we saw the great Alberto Alessi purchase a few of our bags). These fun and unique bags were also enthusiastically received by the press, and often featured in Spanish and European magazines and especially in Japanese magazines such as Begin, FineBoys, JJ, Neuf and Mono. Crazy, isn’t it?
Thanks to our bags the Mariscal design has travelled around the world and entered many lives, like that of Sylvia Segal. As it is one of Equipaje BCN’s classics, this design is always uppermost in our minds whenever we review our design archives (I guess this is just another way Equipaje BCN resembles Vuitton, heh heh…). We intuited that the time had come to bring back the car, airplane and train motif that had given us so much joy in the past. And so when we received that email message from our old client we were especially touched. We asked for her permission to share it as we believed it was an unequivocal sign that we were on the right path. And here we are. We embark on this new journey with two styles: A functional and unisex backpack and travel bag featuring a timeless design that incorporates straight lines. These bags are perfect for moving around the city or for weekend getaways. And they are just as elegant and sturdy as our old bags. These are the first bags featuring this new design, but we should warn you that they won’t be the last (we’re also going to offer other colours besides the black embossed material). So… long live our very own monogram!
*Featured image: Photograph of Javier Mariscal’s final sketch used in the design of Equipaje BCN’s embossed material.
*Direct links: See backpack + See hand bag
*New designs now on sale at www.equipajebcn.com