Tom Writes About: The Buzz Redesign

The Buzz re-design was one of the most challenging pattern-crafting
tasks I’ve taken on recently. Customers asked for a new Buzz that functioned, fit and looked as much like the old Buzz as possible,
but with space enough for a *much* bigger laptop. Imagine for a moment
that you are an interior designer, and a client wants you to re-model an 800 square foot studio apartment and turn it into a 1200 square foot three-bedroom flat. That’s sort of how I’ve been feeling with this one: “make it bigger but only on the inside.”

Simply enlarging the whole thing bigger wasn’t going to work, since it would very quickly start to look too big on one’s back and no longer have the comfortable fit of the Buzz. To make it taller and yet still carry like the original Buzz took some topological twisting
and pinching, including a major re-shaping of the shoulder strap and a completely new internal “boot” for the laptop. In the end it was many small tweaks that worked: and that’s the New Buzz.

– Tom

TB Crew | 2 May 2007 11:57 am

Update on the Zephyr and Empire Builder

The design of the Zephyr (the smaller Empire Builder) is being finalized as this post is written. We will post preview pictures of the Zephyr soon (we’d like to take a picture for you now, but Tom is continually sewing, tearing apart, and re-sewing the current prototype to get the details just right for upcoming production of the bag.) The Zephyr is expected enter production in March or early April, and will be available for pre-order around then, too.

As originally conceived, the Zephyr featured all of the same features and details as the Empire Builder. Fortuitously, while designing the Zephyr, Tom reworked that front pouch to look even better, especially when it’s full of your gear. Most importantly, the new front pouch design fixes the problem some of you have experienced of your Empire Builder: tipping over when there’s too much stuff in the front pocket. The new design actually adds stability to the briefcase, sort of like an outrigger on a canoe.

Happily, both the new Zephyr and the next batch of the Empire Builder (due in late March) will feature this new pouch.
The Empire Builder

TB Crew | 20 February 2007 12:16 pm

Yikes! Fugative Dye and Overseas Fabric

One of our customers recently contacted us to tell us that he’d seen
reviews posted on the Web that critiqued another laptop
manufacturer’s product: users were saying the dyes from the
lining fabrics were bleeding onto the laptops being carried inside.

Concerned that our laptop bags could have the same problem, he asked: are the fabrics that Tom Bihn uses colorfast, or might they bleed too?

The answer? No.

We use the best quality fabrics from U.S. mills that
follow government (read: EPA) regulations. In fact, when our fabric mills
aren’t making fabric for us, they are usually making the same fabric to meet rigorous military specifications.

Overseas fabric mills aren’t subject to the same rules and
regulations. If you buy nylon fabrics overseas, it’s a lot cheaper than
the fabric
you’d buy from U.S. mills, but it often is of significantly lesser
quality, and could potentially
have problems such as “fugative” dye.

Sometimes people ask why our bags are so expensive. One reason is because we spend more on higher quality fabrics, zippers, buckles,
webbing, thread, and every other part that goes into the bag. The price
we pay for that higher-quality material and those tougher zippers and
buckles gets passed on to you, but you’ll also have a bag that will last
years and won’t bleed dye on your stuff!

TB Crew | 19 February 2007 11:13 am

Happy Valentine’s Day from the TOM BIHN crew

Happy Valentine's Day from the TOM BIHN crew in Seattle!
Pictured: The Washington Mutual tower in downtown Seattle on February 13th, 2007. (Thanks, Kim!)

TB Crew | 14 February 2007 11:59 am

For delivery by the 25th + Our Schedule

If you place your order by 2:00 pm Pacific Time tomorrow (Thursday, the 21st) and select UPS Next Day Air, your order will be guaranteed to be delivered on Friday, the 22nd.

We will be closed on Monday, December 25th, but will reopen on Tuesday, December 26th. All orders for in stock products received over the three-day weekend will be shipped on Tuesday, the 26th.

If you have any questions, please call us (1-800-729-9607 or +1-360-565-0143) or email us.

TB Crew | 20 December 2006 4:24 pm

Stormy Seattle + Expedited Holiday Shipping

If you tried to call us after 4:00pm PST on Thursday and were wondering why we didn’t pick up the phones, it was because our power went out due to a huge wind and rain storm here in Seattle, Washington. Wind gusts reached up to 60mph, and the rain came down so fast and hard that it flooded many downtown streets.

Luckily, UPS had already picked up outgoing orders that day, and no shipments were delayed because of the storm. Power to our building returned early this morning, and we personally delivered your last minute UPS Ground and U.S. Mail shipments to the UPS depot and the Post Office this evening.

West Coast customers: You may still be able to select UPS Ground and have your order guaranteed to be delivered by the 25th. Consult our UPS Transit Time map or give us a call (1-800-729-9607 or +1-206-652-4123 or email us) and we’ll help you figure out the time in transit for your package.

Midwest and East Coast: Choose UPS 3Day Select shipping by Tuesday, December 19th, 2nd Day Air by Wednesday, December 20th, or Next Day Air Saver by Thursday, December 21st to have your order guaranteed to be delivered by the 25th.

December 14th Seattle Storm Picture by Joshua Trujillo/Seattle P.I.

TB Crew | 15 December 2006 6:29 pm

Who made your Tom Bihn Utility Tote? Tao did.

Meet Tao. She’s one of the talented seamstresses in our Tom Bihn Seattle Factory. Tao binds the inside seams of our bags, and makes the handles of the Utility Tote. It’s detailed work, and one look at the handles of our Utility Tote shows how skilled Tao is at what she does. The Utility Tote is now in-stock and ready to ship.

The Tom Bihn Utility Tote Bag

Tao binds the inside of seams on Tom Bihn bags, and makes the handles for the Utility Tote Bag

TB Crew | 7 December 2006 5:17 pm

NWSource.com Profiles the Tom Bihn Factory Showroom

If you live in the Seattle area and haven’t yet visited our Seattle Factory Showroom, the recent profile of our showroom by Kathy Shultz of NWSource.com will fill you in on what you’ve been missing. Visit us soon, and we might even give you a tour of our production factory.

Tom Bihn Seattle Factory Showroom:

2203 1st Ave S.

Second Floor

Seattle, WA 98134

206-652-4123

Hours:

Monday – Friday: 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Saturday: 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Sunday: Closed

Need directions? Call us!

TB Crew | 16 August 2006 6:29 pm

Vote for Debbie: UPS Driver of the Month

You place an order through our Web site or over the phone. We receive your order and process it, package it, and make sure it’s ready for pickup. And that’s where Debbie comes in. She’s our UPS driver, the person who picks up the days shipments from our shipping center.

Debbie!

Did you choose 2nd or Next Day Air for your shipping method? Debbie’s the one who made sure it got to the airport on time. Did we sneak your last minute order in to be shipped that same day, even though it was past our shipping deadline? Debbie is the one who waited for us to finish packaging that order. If you’ve placed an order through us that was shipped UPS, chances are that the package went through Debbie’s hands.

Debbie is always smiling. She’s really funny and nice. Everyone on her route loves her. And we think she should be voted “UPS Driver of the Month”, a contest sponsored by Seattle’s KOMO 1000 radio. Each winning UPS driver will receive tickets to a Mariners baseball game.

You can vote for Debbie here. All you need to do is enter your name, address, a reason for nomination, and Debbie’s full name: Deborrah Morgan. You can then mail or fax your nomination, or submit it online (registration required.)

Vote for Debbie! She deserves it.

Debbie!

We haven’t forgotten UPS drivers Jamie, Jimmy, Andy, Will, who sometimes fill in for Debbie on her route, and Luis, “The Boss”. We really like you guys too! Everyone at the Port Angeles UPS hub rocks.

TB Crew | 6 April 2006 2:44 pm

Friends of Riley (Our dog)

We often get emails from customers telling us how much they love the pages on our site for Riley the dog and Bear the cat. If we’re lucky, those customers include pictures of their companion animals, just like the picture below that customer E.F. sent us of his 14-1/2 week old puppy named Riley. Yes, another Riley!

Riley Pup!

We can’t stand not sharing super-cute pictures like this one with the rest of you, so we’ve decided to revamp Riley’s page to include a “Friends of Riley” section that will feature Bear, and pictures of the companion animals of employees and customers. Do you have a picture of your companion animal that should be included in the upcoming “Friends of Riley” gallery? Send it to us!

More pictures of the Riley the puppy and a couple of new pictures of our Riley are after the break.


Riley Pup!

Riley Pup!

Our Riley

Our Riley

TB Crew | 17 March 2006 1:35 pm