One of the best parts of having our own factory is that we can offer our customers a wide selection of color choices, even at our size. That means we often have the flexibility to make a bag in many colorways depending on the availability of our fabrics at the time. We take pride in our color offerings and always strive to keep it fun for you! That's why we aim to introduce new colors seasonally.
At TOM BIHN, we don’t settle for ordinary — we take pride in creating bags that are as unique as you are. Each color in our 200 Halcyon and 210 Cerylon collections, as well as our 630 HT Ballistic colors, is custom-dipped to our exact specifications. Our palette is unique to us and not available elsewhere.
The process of developing new custom colors begins approximately 5 months to one year before our planned debut date. Since the colors are custom, the lead times are longer than usual. During our selection process, we evaluate a variety of colors. Before we settled on Agave and Emerald for our 630 HT Ballistic and 210 Cerylon line, we considered a total of 20 colors, 10 ballistics and 10 for Cerylons, ranging from vibrant to muted to jewel tones (we even pulled a few new 420d Spectron shades… but more on that later). We think about what would enhance our current offerings, what feels missing from the collection, and what else could complement our current selection. Our inspirations are drawn from the world around us — the vibrant Seattle streets, breathtaking PNW landscapes, and (of course) your desires.
Once we’ve narrowed down our options to our partner mills, they begin the process of dipping samples. The timeline to receive sample color dips is usually 4-6 weeks. For the 20 colors we wanted samples of, we received 3 variations per color, resulting in 60 sample color dips! At first glance, these variations may seem almost indistinguishable, but under different lighting conditions, the subtle differences become noticeably apparent.
You might be wondering: how did we end up choosing Agave and Emerald from so many options? A small group of us, the TOM BIHN design, marketing, and customer service team, discuss and vote on the colors. Emerald was an obvious choice. We knew we wanted a true jewel-toned green Cerylon that’d pop as a lining and an exterior fabric alike, and that’s impossible to ignore. Rich, saturated, and alive with energy, Emerald demands your attention and exudes an infectious vibrancy that felt right at home with our bold shades.
Additionally, we wanted to balance Emerald with something more soothing and understated, colorful yet timeless. We were captivated by the calming nature of Agave, which falls as muted turquoise, evoking the image of the horizon under the summer sun, and depending on the lighting, you can even catch hints of green as you do when looking at real agave plants. With soft turquoise tones, Agave captures that unmistakable feeling of long summer days and sandy desert landscapes at sundown. Agave is the perfect complementary color to Dusk and Fjord, subtle tones with an understated elegance.
Truly, there are no bad colors, and in a perfect world, we might have chosen all of the sample dips we received. Who knows, a couple of the colors that didn't make the final cut this time might find themselves in our lineup sooner than you think…
We’re always curious to hear your thoughts – What colors would you like to see next?
PINK please!!! I keep waiting for it to come back for the large travel tray. I have an orange one (don’t care for the color) and I love it but would rather have one in Pink. Three reasons for that…I love the color pink, it stands out and is not left behind easily and between my husband and I, I know the pink one is mine. A bright purple would also be nice.
Thanks for asking. Two thoughts come to mind:
(a) A color with the general nature of a Taiga, Nightwalk or Black Halcyon, for both larger and smaller bags. (In that light, thank you for making Fjord available again.)
(b) A bright-blue, in X-Pac. I’ve seen photos of the discontinued Addax in Black X-Pac, and it looks amazing. (Please consider re-continuing the Addax, in a new improved version?)
Pink, pink, and more pink….PLEASE!!!!!
i know i discovered tom bihn at the end of your halcyon stage,
but PLEASE PLEASE bring back your
(& your GREY HALCYONS) for your EVERYDAY CUBELET
& your SMALL CAFE BAG
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
they are classic with a pop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think maybe you should talk to customers about colors instead of only discussing internally. I’ve seen so many requests to bring Nightwalk and Taiga back— here on the blog, on Reddit, and on Facebook, but instead we keep getting all of these really bright jewel-toned colors. I know there are customers who like those too, I just wish you’d mix up the types of colors you release, instead of releasing similar color after similar color, so that everyone can be happy. It’s been such a long time since you’ve had any subtle earthy colors, and there is clearly a demand for it.
On top of this, I suggest that you add a customization option for people to mix and match from the colors you have in stock, like Timbuk2 has had for years, and like Greenroom136 is doing. You could add a surcharge for the customization, and warn people it will take longer to get their bag than the ready-made options, but at least then customers can get what they want. For example, I’ve been waiting forever to buy a Technoaut and Synik 26, and would like to buy a Forager, but none of the color combinations have been what I’ve wanted, so you’re missing out on those sales.
I get the sense that you’re trying to capitalize on FOMO, but I think the negatives of that strategy outweigh the positives. For a EDC or Side Effect, sure, I may jump in and buy a color I’m not sure about. But for a $400 bag, I’m not going to settle for a combination I’ll regret— I’ll wait for one I like, even if that wait is indefinite.
Letting customers pick and choose colors would also allow you to truly gauge which colors actually sell best, instead of guessing. For example, I like Deep Blue bags (of your current options; Taiga is my favorite overall), but I hate that you always pair it with orange, so I don’t buy as many bags as I would otherwise. If I’m not the only one, then that might lead you to think that Deep Blue isn’t a popular color, when really it’s just the pairing that people don’t like.
It would also take some of the risk out of having to commit to color pairs without knowing how they’ll sell. You can still cut the fabric in bulk, just hold some of the sets aside unassembled for custom orders.
Clearly with the shift to overseas manufacturing and other changes lately, you’ve had to rethink some of your strategies to keep up with the economy. IMO the better way to do that is to lean into being a premium brand, and show customers that the higher price is warranted. Offering bespoke color pairings is a great way to do that.
