Surely you’ve seen them: slouchy women’s handbags, made out of leather or fur and trimmed with odd printed fabric, buckles, zippers, beads, and fringe. Maybe you’ve wondered what exactly the inspiration was behind those designs. Wonder no longer — Radar Magazine has uncovered the trend behind the latest group of designer purses.
Below, Exhibit A: An image from Radar Magazine that shows what really happened to Gizmo.
The Brain Bag Backpack is now in stock and ready to ship in Sapphire. Colors Black and Steel will ship October 27th. If you already had a backorder for a Brain Bag in any color, your order has shipped.
Below is a sampling of some recent feedback from our customers. Want to let us know what you think? Email us (feedback@tombihn.com) or post in our forums.
“I’m a teacher and proud owner of an
Empire Builder w/ Brain Cell for my
Powerbook G4 (17 inch), a Super Ego with Brain Cell for my MacBook, a
Brain Bag for both laptops, and
an Aeronaut for clothes when I stay over
at my girlfriends house, or am on the run.
Recently, there was a fire at my school which forced the evacuation of
my building. Once the blaze was put out, we found ourselves down one
Art room and up one burned Art room. As if the burned Art room wasn’t
enough, the District has shut the building down for weeks to months
because of the smoke damage. Now I work out of my bags in four
different classrooms. I’m proud to say that my Super Ego carries all my
supplies with ease!
Thanks for the great products!”
— T.R.
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“Hey,
Just wanted to say I got my Freudian Slip the day after I ordered it and I absolutely love the thing. Works great. Don’t know how I got by without it.”
— C.H.
— — — — — — — — —
“Hello Folks:
Thanks to the high quality + design of the Buzz bag, my sister decided to take it away from me when I visited her in Thailand. Well, she’s going to be in Germany for 5-6 months and I know that the bag would surely protect her laptop better than anything else.
Funny thing is that nobody back home (or even here in the States) realized that the Buzz was a laptop bag until I ask my sister if she wanted my laptop bag or not. 
Good job guys. Now I know it’s very unlikely that my sister’s laptop will be stolen in Germany.
Keep up the good work! ”
— D.J.
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“I am a very happy Brain Bag customer and would not look any where else
for my laptop bag needs. I am considering getting one for my wife so
watch out in the coming weeks for another order.”
— P.B.
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“Hi,
The Archetype came today. It is awesome. Thanks for making such a beautiful case.”
— S.S.
Riley recommends a few tips courtesy of the Humane Society for keeping your dog and cat safe on Halloween.
You’ll find more pet safety tips on the Humane Society Web site.
Josh Spear writes: “I’m often stopped with it asking if it’s real wood. Splash proof zippers, molded plastic handles and 8mm of dense, closed-cell foam keeps your Macbook protected to the max. Made in Seattle, Tom Bihn continues to impress us with awesome bags, superior customer service and fabulous attention to detail.”
Judie Hughes recently reviewed the Imago for the Gadgateer, and, as you would expect, wrote a thorough review with a lot of pictures.
Excerpt:
“The main compartment of the bag measures approximately 14″ wide x 12″ tall x 4″ deep, and is large enough to hold files, several books or other paperwork. There are two open pockets against the front wall of the bag, each measuring approximately 7″ tall x 6″ wide x 1″ deep. These pockets are perfect for even the largest sized PDAs or smaller UMPCs like my DualCor. On either side of this front pocket wall are metal rings for attaching Organizer Pouches or the included and removable extension keyring clip.”
And be sure to check out Judie’s new blog Gear Diary. Judie will be the first person to review the smaller Empire Builder briefcase (working name: the Zephyr) in early 2007.
Below is a sampling of some recent feedback from our customers. Want to let us know what you think? Email us (feedback@tombihn.com) or post in our forums.
“I spend 35 weeks+ on the road (air travel) per year and I just wanted to say think you for making very well made and thought out products. I own a Brain Bag and a Smart Alec and I cannot praise them highly enough. The Brain Bag is great for multi-week excursions while the Smart Alec is my everyday bag. Both bags are just about bulletproof and the layout is so good that I felt at home the first week. I had my previous bag for several years and could never find anything I liked better now I have two that are much better. Going through the airport is a breeze. My stuff is easy to get to and and even TSA can figure out where stuff is! Anyone who make my life easier is always welcome. I will recommend you to anyone.”
— Adam, White Star Software
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“I’ve had my Brain Bag for a couple years now; I have to say that it seems to be the first bad I’ve ever purchased that has had NO flaws show up over time.
It’s been around the world, it’s been used to carry big greasy motorcycle parts for repair (stains came out! thought Id ruined it) and I have two ‘monolith’ bags for my laptops, the snake charmer, and the organiser sleeve. It’s all great!
If I were given the power to make changes to the bag, I would add some way to hold the tummy strap out of the way when it’s not needed.
Still I have to agree with everyone else here – this is the best bad I’ve ever owned, and if it ever wears out (I’m not sure if it ever will!) I’ll buy another. Maybe in purple.” — M.O.
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“To whom it may concern,
I have been using my Super Ego and Brain Cell for about a month now, and it’s the best bag I’ve ever used. Very well crafted and thought out. Everything is ergonomic and designed for ease of use. I don’t really have any suggestions on how you could improve it (which is rare for me)…other than give it away. ” — B.W.
— — — — — — — — —
“Hello!
I just wanted to thank you for my new Large Cafe Bag. It’s like you read my mind! All the best,” — C.G.
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“Bought your Large Cafe Bag (Cocoa/Wasabi) and, being based in the UK I expected a long wait. Not a bit of it. Delivery was fast (4 days from order) and the bag itself is sublimely brilliant.
Very well done to you all! Many thanks,” — N.M.
The features of Tom’s redesign of the ID Messenger Bag (Available for order now; ships mid-November):
* On both sides of the ID are pockets lined with Ultrasuede® and closed by #8 YKK Splash-Proof Uretech® zippers, designed to provide scratch-free storage for your iPod/MP3 player, cell phone, PDA, or eyewear. These pockets feature a tiny opening at the beginning of the zipper for your earbuds cord to feed through without getting scrunched.
* An exterior water bottle pocket that can be cinched down with compression straps when not in use.
* Interchangeable shoulder straps: Choose between the comfortable standard strap that comes with the ID, the patented Absolute Shoulder Strap, or the soon to be introduced quick-adjust extended pad messenger-style shoulder strap.
* A new, updated flap design.
* Available in three new color combinations: Black/Sage/Deep Blue, Black/Steel/Steel, and Black/Kiwi/Steel.
Visit the ID page for full descriptions of all updates. Or, talk about the redesign in our forums.
Customer Cobos posted an update on carry-on luggage restrictions in the EU in our Tom Bihn Forums:
“It seems the EU/EC has agree on new stricter permanent hand-luggage rules. These include severe limitations on what liquids you are allowed to bring onboard and stricter size limitations on the luggage pieces you can bring. Though the baggage rules will not apply until sometime in 2007. BUT, they give maximum dimensions of: 56 x 45 x 25 cm which means the Aeronaut is still the perfect size ! All hail the supreme Aeronaut… ”
Customer Moriond posted their experiences using the Aeronaut in recent International travel:
“Just a couple of comments: apart from being useful in and of themselves, the packing cubes really make inspection of baggage go faster, because the contents are visible through the mesh in the large and small cubes, and if inspectors do need to unzip and examine the items in the cubes, everything stays organized and can be quickly zipped up again and closed. And the packing cubes are sized exactly for the Aeronaut. (I’m speaking about the random checks that sometimes occur regardless of what you’re carrying — not when you have problematic contents that show up in the X-ray scans). Secondly, the Aeronaut is really distinctive and easy to spot on the luggage conveyor belt. And although it always seems to be dwarfed by neighboring luggage, it holds a surprising amount of stuff.”
Excerpt:
“I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again (and again and again): a lot of MacBook, MacBook Pro, iBook, and PowerBook bags and sleeves pass through my doors. I’ve turned into the Imelda Marcos of notebook bags and sleeves (or maybe I should use a more masculine example? Ted Nugent is to guns as I am to laptop bags). Recently I decided I had to do something about my overflowing closet and decided to offer my friends to pick a bag and sleeve out of the pile to help clear up some floor space.
When one of my friends picked out the Imago, though, I had second thoughts. I considered telling him that this bag was not available for the taking. I thought about this without having any need whatsoever for the Imago; for all the bags I see, I’ve been using the same setup for quite some time and it meets my needs. The thing is, the Imago is just really, really attractive, particularly in the colors of my review unit (which you can see below).”
Read the full review or check out the Imago Product Page.
